Custody Battle
by MadnessJones
Summary: G1: Soundwave's three youngest sparklings are jettisoned from the Ark during its maiden voyage and are found by Blaster 4 million years later. Soundwave is not happy... Sequel to "You Will Care For Me". Cowritten by Sonofsoundwave :)
1. Stowaways

_Author's Notes: This fic is based off of **GoldenIceNinja's** three OCs (Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe). This is my second request fic and the first time I've used another person's OCs. I'm not going to make a habit of it, but this time the story was good enough that I just had to try. Hope everyone enjoys it and please review :)_

* * *

Chapter 1

Stowaways

The streets of Iacon were very different from the city of Polyhex. The Autobot stronghold was nearly deserted since most of the Autobots were either dead or in hiding. That suited Solarflare just fine. Those Autobots were trying to bring back the oppressive council and kill their family! They deserved whatever they got.

Solarflare was with her older brother Video Error and her split-spark twin Freezeframe as they stalked along the abandoned road in the Autobot city-state. Their father, Soundwave, and their six older siblings were already here under direct orders from Megatron himself to follow the Autobots into space and destroy them. Why Megatron built his fancy new warship in Iacon the sparklings could only guess.

"I still don't see why Dad wouldn't let us come with him to fight the Autobots!" Solarflare groused, "I mean come on! Autobots are practically extinct! How hard could it be?"

"The reasons are quite obvious, Solarflare," Freezeframe replied as he hung back behind the rest of the group to enjoy the scenery, "One, we are sparklings, and Dad would worry about us getting hurt. The second reason is that technically we are not Decepticons yet. We can't choose a faction until we're adults, so legally we wouldn't be fighting as soldiers so much as committing murder against those we have no reason to fight."

"I wasn't gonna kill them!" Solarflare snapped, "I was just gonna mess them up. Why should Rumble and Frenzy get to have all the fun? Even Ratbat got to go with Dad! Fragging _Ratbat_!"

"You don't want Dad to hear you cursing like that," Video Error giggled, "You'll get stuck in the tape deck until you're ready to upgrade."

Video Error always found some way to tease his siblings about their cassette forms. He was the only one of Soundwave's creations that wasn't a cassette, but rather a cassette carrier like his father. Video Error wasn't exactly a haughty mechling, but he did enjoy teasing his siblings just because he could. To be fair though, Video Error would find ways to have fun even when fun shouldn't exist. Just ask the clerk at the tax office that caught the little dark blue and dark green carrier coloring on his pedes with a red marker.

Of course, whenever Video Error started lording his alt mode over his siblings, Solarflare always had the same cutting retort…

"Yeah, well when we find the Autobots Freezeframe and I will demolish them!" Solarflare declared, "I'll set them all on fire with my flame cannons, and Freezeframe will stop them in their tracks with his liquid nitrogen! While we're doing that you can catch up on your reality TV shows or something."

Solarflare laughed, and Video Error swatted her with his servo to the back of her helm. Each of the sparklings had a sigma ability, but while Solarflare was blessed with the pure destructive force of fire and Freezeframe had the gift of ice blasters, poor Video Error's sigma ability was useless in battle. He showed video feeds on his visor. That was useful in reporting information to Soundwave, but not much else. Well, that and recording embarrassing footage of Decepticon warriors. Heh heh...

"Hey, I've got a new game we can play!" Video Error said in an effort to change the subject from his violence-impaired sigma ability, "Every time we see a ship of a certain color we get to hit each other! I call it punch-shuttle!"

"Okay, I pick red," Solarflare replied agreeably.

"I guess I'll pick orange," Freezeframe said casually as he lifted his arms behind his helm.

"Orange?" Solarflare asked incredulously, "Nobody would paint a ship orange! You'll never get to punch anything!"

"Okay," Freezeframe replied; unconcerned.

"Well I pick purple!" Video Error announced, "Purple is a strong Decepticon color!"

"Whatever," Solarflare replied flatly as they continued walking to their destination.

* * *

They walked along the road for almost a groon before they made it to the hangar where the Nemesis was docked. The crew was scrambling frantically trying to get their supplies loaded before the ship had to take off in pursuit of the Autobot ship, the Ark. Many lower-ranked workers were there as well to make sure the warriors were at their peak physical condition. Video Error looked on in wonder at the large purple ship. Wait! _Purple_ …

"Punch-shuttle!" Video Error shouted as he hit both Solarflare and Freezeframe in the arm.

"Hey! Do that again and I'll scorch you!" Solarflare shouted furiously.

"Hey, it's part of the game, remember?" Video Error reminded her as he held up his servos in a placating manner.

Solarflare huffed an intake of air and crossed her arms but didn't press the issue. The red and flame-painted Cassetticon had better things to do than worry about her immature yet older brother.

"We gotta get on that ship," Solarflare declared as she stared up at the grandeur that was the Nemesis.

"Okay," Freezeframe shrugged and started walking toward the ship's entrance.

"What are you, crazy?" Video Error hissed quietly, "You can't just walk through the front door! We'll get kicked out!"

The light blue Cassetticon wasn't paying attention to his brother, however, and continued to walk past the guards and into the ship. He was small, so he knew he wouldn't attract a lot of attention if he just didn't look nervous. That wasn't hard for Freezeframe though. Nothing made him nervous. He made it past the guards without incident; much to the surprise of his siblings.

"Well...It seemed to work for Freezeframe," Solarflare hesitantly inched closer to the ship as she talked, "I guess it can work for us, too."

"Sure. Hey, I bet I can beat you there!" Video Error challenged and then took off running.

"What? _Hey_! Get back here you cheater!" Solarflare called out as she ran after him.

Video Error and Solarflare ran up to the ship doors in an effort to beat each other. Solarflare made it through first, and she whooped in triumph! This caused one of the guards to look down and notice Video Error, and he gave the 3 vorn old sparkling a glare.

"Hey, what are you doin' here? Who are you?" The guard asked suspiciously.

"Well, uh…" Video Error's mind was a blank, and he didn't know how to get out of this one.

"That's Frenzy," Freezeframe said from inside the ship, "My name is Rumble. We are expected by Megatron, and quickly. The ship is leaving soon."

Video Error was sure the guard would never buy it. Sure, Freezeframe might pass for Rumble if you squinted really hard, but Video Error didn't look anything like Frenzy! He wasn't even a cassette!

"Oh, sorry to hold you up Frenzy. Carry on," The guard said stiffly as he turned his attention back to the hanger instead of the sparklings.

Video Error snickered after they were past security. Freezeframe gave him a placid smile that said _yeah, I rule_.

"Rumble and Frenzy?" Solarflare asked skeptically, "Our brothers are adults. They don't look anything like you bozos. If we had been caught we could've been arrested or worse...grounded."

"True, but none of that happened," Video Error reminded her, "We're fine, so all we have to do is hide out until the ship is out of orbit, and then we can rejoin our family."

Solarflare sighed longsufferingly but didn't argue the point. Everyone always told her she had a temper problem, but she didn't believe that. She didn't have a temper problem, she had a _brother_ problem.

* * *

Hiding out in the supply closet had, in retrospect, not been the wisest idea. Video Error had put the mop over his head and was making funny faces at his siblings. Freezeframe had managed to do nothing while remaining completely calm, but Solarflare was going stir crazy! She had cabin fever bad, but she knew if they left the closet before they were at their destination they'd all be in big trouble. Solarflare was sure Megatron didn't execute sparklings, but nobody really wanted to take that chance.

"How far into the voyage are we?" Freezeframe asked Video Error.

Video Error called up his GPS map on his visor, and it showed that they had already traveled past several solar systems. This ship truly was a miracle of modern science. Unfortunately that miracle had very tiny closet space.

A message over the loudspeaker immediately caught the sparklings' attention. It was Megatron himself, and he was calling for all Decepticons to board the Autobot vessel! This was their chance!

"Alright slaggers, we're gonna board that ship with our Dad and our brothers, and we're gonna make those Autobots cry!" Solarflare proclaimed passionately.

"Language!" Video Error reminded her in the voice and image of a nagging parent from Cybertronian TV on his visor.

Solarflare growled but didn't argue. She was too excited about kicking Autobutt to worry about her goofball brother.

* * *

When they made it to the Ark it was utter bedlam! Everyone was fighting everyone else, and the ship was rocking with the impact of asteroids smashing against the hull. At first all the sparklings could do was stare, but then out of nowhere Freezeframe punched Solarflare and Video Error!

"Hey! What was that for, you fragger?" Solarflare asked heatedly.

"The ship is orange," Freezeframe explained calmly, "Punch-shuttle."

Video Error laughed quietly at Freezeframe's deadpan delivery. Freezeframe was so much like their father. Both were calm and willing to take whatever came their way in stride. Solarflare shot both of them an angry glare before stomping off into the heat of battle; literally for the fiery femmeling.

She examined the battleground until she spotted two Autobots ganging up on one of the troops, Reflector if she recalled correctly, and she charged into action with a mighty battle cry! She shot huge red and orange flames from her cannon and sent the two Autobots rolling on the floor in a panic! She smirked in triumph, until she saw a much larger mech towering over her!

She looked up worriedly, but noticed that one, he was a Decepticon, and two, he didn't even notice her yet. It was one of the seekers from Megatron's elite trine, and he was facing off against an Autobot!

"Solarflare, come back!" Video Error shouted as he and Freezeframe ran over to her, but his voice was drowned out by the melee going on around them.

The three sparklings crowded together and waited for someone to attack them, but no one even noticed Soundwave's little creations as the ship began to shake even harder than before. They looked up at the seeker to see what he would do against the Autobot. They had never been this close to a fight before, but they had always wanted to be a part of the fight for their father's master. Soundwave always spoke to them of how brilliant and powerful Megatron was, and instilled in them a deep respect for the Decepticon warlord.

"Stay away from that there control, Skywarp!" The red Autobot growled as he aimed a set of guns that looked very similar to Freezeframe's nitrogen cannons.

"You don't have the struts to offline me, Ironhide!" Skywarp taunted confidently.

Skywarp knew exactly what he was doing. He was directly in front of the only functioning escape pod on the Ark. Once Ironhide fired, Skywarp would teleport away and the liquid nitrogen would freeze the opening shut; preventing the Autobots from escaping their doomed ship. Sure, the Decepticons would perish as well, but there were plenty of Decepticon soldiers left to rule Cybertron. Most of the Autobots in the entire universe were crammed in this one ship, and destroying it would decimate their numbers. Skywarp, unfortunately, wasn't as smart as he thought he was, and forgot that Megatron was on the ship too, not to mention Thundercracker and Starscream. If he had realized that he might have changed his mind.

"That's it, yer goin' down!" Ironhide snarled as he fired his ice cannons at Skywarp.

Just as he planned, Skywarp teleported away. Unfortunately he didn't notice the three little sparklings hiding behind him, and therefore was unprepared for Ironhide blasting them into the escape pod, and the pod dislodging with their frozen bodies inside!

Soundwave, however, had noticed the whole thing just as it was happening. He was too busy fighting Prowl to get to the pod in time, and watched in horror as his three youngest creations were thrown into the depths of space!

Soundwave let out an ear-piercing signal-jamming frequency, his scream of grief, and everyone covered their audio sensors while Soundwave fell to his knees.

"Boss!" Rumble cried out when he saw his father and master fall, "What happened?"

"Video Error: terminated," Soundwave droned in a surprisingly defeated monotone, "Solarflare: terminated. Freezeframe: terminated. Autobots: responsible."

* * *

The three sparklings were frozen inside the now sealed escape pod as they floated toward a planet; their only shield from the outer atmosphere being the thinly shielded container that held them.

They saw the planet, and they saw the Ark crash into it, but their own pod was still floating in space; orbiting the blue and green marble that claimed the Autobot ship.

"W-we're going t-to die…" Solarflare shivered.

"No, we can still survive," Freezeframe informed her, "We must go into stasis, and hope our dad survives long enough to find us. I can survive this temperature, but you two cannot. Therefore, you must deactivate all non-vital functions and reroute all power to your self-repair systems. We will survive."

"Um, guys? I d-don't want to s-scare anyone, but…" Video Error said nervously, "I can't see anything. All I'm g-getting is static."

"Here, I'll help," Solarflare said sweetly, and then she violently hit him over the helm!

"Ow! Why you little-! Hey, I can see!" Video Error cheered, "It's a miracle! I can see! I can- and now it's gone. Scrap!"

"Language," Solarflare said mockingly, not forgetting how Video Error was always on her case about her hot-tempered potty mouth.

The air grew colder as the liquid nitrogen settled into the temperatures of outer space and the shuttle's cold metal. The sparklings looked at each other one last time. They each shut down, and all had the same unspoken fear in their processor…

 _What if the Autobots find us first?_


	2. Treasure Hunting

_Author's Notes: I'm glad there has been such interest in this new story! You can thank_ _ **GoldenIceNinja**_ _since the story and characters were his idea. I just fit the puzzle pieces together. This collaberation is made possible by readers like you. Thank you :)_

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Chapter 2

Treasure Hunting

 _4 Million Years Later…_

The Autobots watched the news feed on Teletran 1. According to the human news stories an unknown object fell from space and crash landed in the desert about 50 miles away from Las Vegas. At first they feared it might be a new Decepticon weapon, but when they saw it on the computer screen the nature of this object became painfully clear.

It was the Ark's old escape pod.

"We cannot allow Cybertronian technology to fall into human hands," Optimus Prime noted, "No matter how benign it may seem, reverse engineering that pod could have disastrous ramifications for the native population."

"The radiation alone could kill whatever human manages to get too close to it," Ratchet pointed out.

"Ah don't see the big deal," Ironhide drawled, "It's in the desert. What are the odds that a human would even find it?"

"We cannot take that risk," Optimus Prime reaffirmed, "I am sending a small team to retrieve the pod. The raw materials from it could prove beneficial when we need spare parts."

"So who are ya gonna send to retrieve it?" Jazz asked curiously.

"Hm…" Optimus wasn't sure who the best team for this would be, but soon inspiration struck.

Loud music suddenly started blaring from the communications room next to Teletran 1, and everyone already knew who it was. Blaster had his rock music cranked up to the max, and he was grooving to the beat with Windcharger and Blaster's 4 cassette bots; Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Eject, and Rewind.

It was no secret that Optimus Prime hated Blaster's music. In fact, most of the crew got tired of listening to it since he favored earth music these days. Jazz of course loved it and was always the first one to start dancing along when he heard it. That somehow made it worse, because a high ranking officer approved of the rowdy behavior.

Optimus sent a comm signal ordering Blaster and Windcharger into the control room. When they showed up the red boom box-former was sauntering along happily and his grey and red minibot pal was running to keep up with his steps.

"Blaster, Windcharger, I have an assignment for you," Optimus announced, and the pair of Autobots beamed proudly at being singled out, "Our escape pod has left orbit around the planet and crashed into the desert in Nevada. I need you two to bring the pod back to base."

"No problem, O.P. We'll be back before you can say _roll out_!" Blaster quipped in a chipper tone of voice.

They accepted their duty gracefully and with excitement. Missions could be fun when it wasn't some filthy Decepticon shooting at you or a breakout of cosmic rust trying to consume you.

Optimus sighed in relief once they were gone, but realized immediately that the other Autobots were looking at him, so quickly regained his composure. He couldn't help it though. He just wanted a little peace and quiet without Blaster's repellent music.

* * *

Windcharger drove along the sand in his red car alt mode. He was usually pretty fast on the road, but in sand it was slow going. Blaster sat in his driver's seat in his boom box mode, and the pair had been chattering nonstop since they left the Ark.

"The cassettes are gonna love this!" Blaster exclaimed cheerfully, "This'll be just like a treasure hunt. They haven't had a lot of time to just explore the planet since we got here. I think Rewind has been a bit nervous about being on a new planet, but Eject loves it here. He especially loves the games humans play. Can't get enough Monday Night Football."

Windcharger chuckled good naturedly and turned on his scanners to triangulate the position of the pod.

"I know what you mean," Windcharger said after a few seconds, "It seems like all I do anymore is twiddle my digits waiting for something to happen. Optimus Prime is afraid for me to go on missions anymore. I never should've told Ratchet about my sigma ability draining my power at three times the normal rate. Now everybody thinks I'm going to keel over and offline every time I magnetize something!"

"I hear that," Blaster replied sympathetically, "Sigma abilities can be a great thing, but sometimes they come with a lot of maintenance."

The conversation was interrupted when a loud beeping reverberated throughout the inside of the car. Windcharger looked for the source of the interference, and saw that it was three Decepticon life signals rapidly approaching the pod!

"Step on it!" Blaster yelled over the sound of the alarm.

Windcharger kicked his gears into overdrive as he drove further into the desert and closer to the pod and the Decepticons.

When they made it to the pod, they saw the three Insecticons surrounding it and talking amongst themselves. Windcharger and Blaster might've seemed outnumbered, but fortunately Blaster brought along his cassettes.

"This metal looks delicious delicious!" Shrapnel gushed over their find, "I think it might even be Cybertronian -tronian."

"Hold it right there, bugs!" Windcharger called out defiantly.

"Autobots!" Bombshell shouted furiously, "Insecticons, attack!"

The Insecticons swarmed the Autobots, but the Autobots were prepared. Blaster used the speakers on his legs to pierce the air with a sonic shriek! Kickback was caught in the crossfire, and started writhing in the hot sand in his grasshopper mode. Blaster then let Ramhorn and Steeljaw out of his tape deck, and together they charged the Insecticons!

Ramhorn went straight for Bombshell, and the red rhinoceros jammed his horn against Bombshell's side before the boll weevil even knew what hit him! Steeljaw clamped his jaws into Shrapnel, but Shrapnel used his electricity to shock the golden lion and knock him into stasis lock!

Windcharger, meanwhile, used the confusion of the melee to sneak off to the side. He then used his magnetic pull to grab the life pod and draw it closer to himself. He got it before anyone noticed, and commed Blaster to let him know to retreat.

/Alright, outta sight!/ Blaster cheered over the comm, and then out loud he said "Hey guys, we won. Let's book!"

Blaster then opened his chest compartment, and his obedient creations folded back into their cassette modes and fell into place inside. Shrapnel was the only Insecticon still conscious, so when Blaster transformed into his stereo mode and fell back into Windcharger's awaiting car mode the stag beetle was hot on their trail!

Windcharger drove as fast as he could, but it was no use trying to outrun a giant flying enemy! Desperate, Windcharger activated his turret launcher on the side of his alt mode. It wasn't powerful, but it was accurate. He fired, and Shrapnel took the shot in the chassis! The Insecticon was only dazed for a few seconds, but that was all Windcharger needed to drive far enough away for Shrapnel to forget about him.

Rumble arrive at the coordinates just as the fighting had stopped. He saw Kickback and Bombshell lying on the ground, and assumed they had taken whatever prize had been there before. Kickback came to, and Rumble immediately pointed his gun to the grasshopper's helm.

"Okay bug, start talkin'," Rumble said threateningly, "There was an unidentified object here. What did you creeps do with it?"

"Huh?" Kickback's vision was blurry, and it took him a few seconds to recognize Rumble, "Oh, you're one of Soundwave's trained monkeys. Yeah, there was something here, but the Autobots got it before we could eat it. Say, could you call us a lift? Finding fuel in the desert is really hard, and I don't think we can fly all the way back to Bali by ourselves."

Rumble growled under his breath and held a servo to his forehead. These bugs gave him such a helmache! All they did was mooch and destroy things!

Shrapnel flew back just in time to see Rumble standing among his fallen Insecticon brethren. He transformed back into robot mode and said "So, you noticed the signal too too?"

"What was it?" Rumble asked him, "Megatron wants to know if the Autobots are buildin' a new weapon."

"I don't know know," Shrapnel shrugged, "Some orange pod pod. Looked like part of the Autobot's ship ship."

Rumble's visor went wide when he heard that. A pod? It couldn't be! Not after all these vorns! Rumble didn't want to get his hopes up. He knew it might all be for nothing...but what if it wasn't? What if the tomb of his deceased siblings had been found? What if they could finally give Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe the proper funeral they deserved?

He knew Soundwave needed to hear about this immediately. No way could they allow the Autobots to scrap the bodies of those sparklings!

* * *

Blaster and Windcharger made it back to the Ark with the pod safely secured on Windcharger's roof. When they finally made it back the first thing Windcharger did was transform into robot mode and take the pod in his arms. For some reason the pod was leaking fluid from the crack in the door. Prowl was the first one to greet them upon their return.

"I am pleased to see your mission was successful," Prowl said to them once they made it to Teletran 1, "Ratchet and Wheeljack are currently occupied. Please see Perceptor about opening the pod and examining its contents."

"Aw, nuts," Blaster said dejectedly, "I wanted to see Wheeljack. He was gonna show me this new speaker system he's working on."

Prowl hid his horror at the idea very nicely, but inside he was imagining Blaster with even more powerful stereo equipment. It was the stuff of nightmares…

Windcharger wanted to wash away the sticky liquid that seeped from the pod to his frame, so Blaster volunteered to take the pod to Perceptor and let Windcharger get clean in the wash racks. Blaster whistled a happy tune as he strode over to Perceptor's lab.

"Ah, hello Blaster. I've been expecting you," Perceptor greeted him warmly, "Just place that pod right here on the table, and I'll get to work on it."

"Mind if I watch?" Blaster asked.

"Not at all," Perceptor replied, "In fact, I would appreciate the company. First, we need to get a scan of the inside of the pod to ensure there are no harmful substances that collected from the cold depths of space. If everything is clear, then we'll make a small incision right along the area where the bolts connect the inner and outer hulls together. Hand me my electron scanner, would you?"

Blaster complied, and soon Perceptor had the pod hooked up to more scanners than one of Ratchet's patients. He read each monitor carefully, and Blaster listened to soft jazz music while the red microscope/scientist worked. Soon though, it was clear that something was off. Perceptor looked at his fifth monitor with a quizzical expression on his face plate, and tapped the monitor to ensure it wasn't on the blink.

"Hm...It says there is residual spark energy in this pod, but that can't be right," the whisper in Perceptor's voice made it almost impossible for Blaster to hear him.

"Maybe it's a glitch?" Blaster suggested.

That suggestion was put to rest by the next sound to be heard in the room; muffled screaming coming from inside the pod! Soon the screaming was followed by pounding and banging coming from the inside of the pod! Whoever was in there was desperate to escape.

"My word! There is something in there!" Perceptor exclaimed in shock, "Quickly Blaster! Get me that blowtorch! We must free whoever or whatever is trapped in that pod!"


	3. Contact

_Author's Notes: You might notice that there is mention in this chapter of the Autobots having sparklings. That is because this fic could eventually cross over with "You Wil Care For Me". Thanks to everyone for your encouraging reviews. For once I'm not the only one who cares :)_

* * *

Chapter 3

Contact

Blaster and Perceptor pulled and pried at the metal until they had peeled back the hull like a banana, and what they saw caused both to step back in shock!

Sparklings! There were three little sparklings staring wide-visored up at them; all covered in melted liquid nitrogen. Blaster stepped up to get a closer look, and could see that the flame-painted one and the light blue one were cassettes. The dark blue and dark green one with the large visor and tentacles was a carrier like himself. He didn't know how a group of sparklings could've gotten into the Ark's escape pod, but his spark instantly felt pity for them.

"What's happening?" The carrier sparkling asked desperately, "Guys! Are we out? Did they find us? Come on, I can't see!"

"Shut up, slag head!" The flame colored femmeling hissed, "They're Autobots!"

" _Autobots_?!" The carrier squealed in terror.

Perceptor drew closer to them, and Solarflare tried to attack him with her flame cannons, only to find they didn't work because of the melted liquid still lodged in her systems.

"Hey there little ones, you don't have to be afraid of us," Blaster said in what he hoped was a comforting voice, "My name's Blaster, and this here's my friend Perceptor. We found your pod, well technically _our_ pod, and now you're at Autobot Headquarters."

" _Again_?" Video Error whined.

"You should've left us in the desert!" Solarflare growled, "I'd rather be in the Sea of Rust than with you Autobutts!"

"Speak for yourself," Freezeframe muttered, "I for one am grateful that I was not forced to endure the extreme heat. Thank you."

Blaster couldn't help but chuckle. The light blue cassette was very well spoken for a sparkling. Clearly they were Decepticon sparklings, but Blaster had never seen them before, so he didn't know anything about them.

"Hey Perceptor, how old would you say these little dudes are?" Blaster asked, never taking his optics off the sparklings.

"Hm...According to my scans the carrier is about 3 vorns old, while the cassettes are somewhere between 2 to 2.5 vorns old," Perceptor informed him.

"A 3 vorn old carrier…" Blaster said with a tone of voice that sounded distant and sad, "...and 2 vorn old twins. How'd you little dudes get in there?"

"We'll never talk!" Solarflare yelled, "You can torture us, bribe us, and make us eat dirt! We'll never tell you anything!"

"We got caught in the crossfire after following the Decepticons to your ship," Freezeframe told them, earning him a vicious glare from Solarflare.

"You must be hungry," Perceptor observed, "Perhaps I could interest you in some low grade energon. You can drink it right here in the lab."

"No!" Video Error shouted, " I won't take fuel from you! You'll poison it to keep us from taking intel back to Megatron!"

"Um, Video Error, we don't work for Megatron," Freezeframe pointed out drolly.

Video Error sat down with a hard thud and pouted. He was trying to protect the group. Why did Freezeframe always have to be so lackadaisical about these things?

"Blaster, keep an optic on them," Perceptor requested, "I'll go get them some fuel and bring back Ratchet. If the carrier's visor is failing then it will need to be repaired."

With that Perceptor left the room and Blaster was soon alone with the sparklings. He wanted to get to know them, but they had other ideas…

/Alright guys, I have a plan,/ Freezeframe said over the comm.

/Yeah? Well make it quick! That Autobot is looking right at us!/ Solarflare snapped.

/He is? Aw, mech! This being blind stuff blows scrap!/ Video Error complained.

/Just keep him busy,/ Freezeframe ordered, /I'll try to contact Dad./

Solarflare and Video Error smiled at their brother's brilliant plan. Simple, yet the Autobot would never see it coming! Just a few minutes and their father would grind that Autobot into powder.

"Say Autobot, can we get some tunes around here?" Video Error asked Blaster to keep him busy, "You know we carriers and cassettes need our music, or we'll go crazy."

"Sure thing little dude," Blaster replied jovially, "Oh, and by the way, the designation's Blaster. What's yours?"

"I'm Video Error, and this is Solarflare. Our brother Freezeframe is a little shy," Video Error lied so Blaster wouldn't try to talk to Freezeframe, "So what kind of music you got from Cybertron?"

"Well let's see…" Blaster looked through his saved files, "A good chunk of my hard drive space is filled with earth music. This place has so many great types of music! Their power ballads and rock music kind of remind me of Cybertron. Let's see though if I can find...Okay, how about The Trine Song?"

"Boring!" Solarflare shouted disdainfully, "What else you got?"

"Well let's see...There's The March of Altihex, Gestalt Love, Sad Femme, The Prime's Anthem-"

"That one!" Video Error shouted, "I want to hear The Prime's Anthem!"

"Are you crazy?" Solarflare barked, "That slag is the official song of the Autobot government! It's what they play when a new Prime takes over the matrix!"

"I don't care! I think it sounds cool!" Video Error argued, "Go on Blaster, play it!"

"Alright, outta sight!" Blaster chirped as he set up the track.

After a few seconds The Prime's Anthem began to play over his loudspeakers, and Solarflare covered her audio sensors while Video Error bobbed his head to the hard pulsating tunes.

 _You got the touch…_

 _You got the poweeer!_

Freezeframe, meanwhile, was trying to contact Soundwave, but his long-range comm link was damaged during their stasis. He muttered under his vocalizer as he tried to diagnose the problem himself to see if he could fix it. He could not.

Realizing that they were trapped in the Autobot base with no link to the outside universe, Freezeframe deduced that the best course of action would be to trick the Autobot medic into believing the sparklings would join the Autobots, and then once the comm link was fixed try to contact the Decepticons.

The music track finished playing, and Blaster asked Solarflare what she would like to listen to since Video Error got to pick last time. She decided she wanted to give earth music a try, since that was the planet they were apparently on now, and rifled through Blaster's impressive collection of music from around the world.

"Hm...This one," Solarflare finally decided.

"Demons by Imagine Dragons. Alright then. Cool," Blaster nodded and set up the recording.

Solarflare and Video Error listened to the song, and by then Freezeframe had come to sit beside them on the lab's table as well. Solarflare noticed right away that the song blended love and guilt, and somehow felt honest. It reminded her of a few of her father's coworkers that she had met, especially that blue seeker in the elite trine. He was odd, but at the same time treated them well.

/Video Error, Solarflare,/ Freezeframe commed them, /We need medical care if we are going to repair our communications systems, Solarflare's flame cannon, and Video Error's visor. Pretend to want to join the Autobots./

/No way!/ Solarflare argued, /They're evil!/

/It doesn't matter. We're only pretending,/ Freezeframe reminded her.

/Oh, I like pretending!/ Video Error commented happily, /This'll be just like a game. We'll play super spies!/

/Yes, whatever. Just stay in character,/ Freezeframe reminded them.

They scooted closer to Blaster and tried to sound excited and friendly when he played tracks for them or spoke to them. If pretending to want to be Autobot sparklings would get them back to their dad sooner, then they would gladly do it.

* * *

Back on the Nemesis, Megatron, Starscream, and Soundwave awaited Rumble's return. Whatever it was the Autobots had, Megatron wanted it. The throne room of the Nemesis was surprisingly quiet. For once Starscream wasn't being annoying and for once Megatron could hear himself think.

Soundwave, as usual, was passive and gave away nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. His ability to keep his emotions in check was what made him a valuable asset to Megatron and a terrifying officer to both Decepticons and Autobots alike. It was ironic that the communications officer had some of the worst interpersonal skills on the entire ship.

/Rumble to base,/ Rumble said over the computer's comm system, /Request permission to board./

"Raise the platform, Soundwave," Megatron ordered.

"As you command, Lord Megatron," Soundwave replied in his smooth electronic monotone voice.

Soundwave typed on the keyboard and pulled a few levers until the entire ship began to rise like an elevator. It's purple spire sprung up out of the water, and it's hangar door opened to admit Rumble.

Once Rumble was on the bridge, Megatron ordered him to reveal what it was the Autobots had and whether or not he successfully brought it back for them.

"It was just a downed satellite, Megatron," Rumble replied in a calm voice that did not betray his inner fear of the Decepticon warlord, "I could've taken it, but it was worthless. I don't even think the Autobots would bother to bring that thing back to their base."

"So you failed to retrieve the item," Megatron growled in a low tone, "Remind again why I keep you around, Rumble?"

"Uh...I'm huggable?" Rumble joked, his voice rising in pitch nervously.

"Soundwave, escort your brat to the brig," Megatron ordered in a bored tone of voice, "He is to remain there for three earth days."

"As you command," Soundwave replied dutifully, and waited by the door for Rumble to join him.

Rumble looked dejected, but there was nothing Soundwave could do. It was either put Rumble in the brig or risk Megatron beating one of his beloved creations. It was only fair to punish Rumble after he ignored orders and left the item behind, or at least that was Soundwave's reasoning.

"Hey, boss," Rumble whispered once they were at the brig, "I didn't wanna say anything in front of Megatron, but I did find something out. Something important."

"Withholding information from Megatron: unwise," Soundwave admonished his son, "Relay information now."

"It was the escape pod from the Ark!" Rumble spilled the information quickly; his words running into each other, "That was what crashed, and the Autobots got to it first before I could get there to stop them! That pod has the bodies of Video Error and the others! We have to get it back before the Autobots steal their parts and use them for themselves!"

"Sparkling parts: valuable," Soundwave recalled the Autobots had sparklings on board their ship, "Course of action: scout and retrieve. I will send Ravage."

"Send Frenzy, too!" Rumble insisted, "His arms are strong enough to carry the pod back, or at least the bodies...Oh, pit!"

Rumble began to cry after he said that. He thought the pain was finally dulled, but the thought of his sparkling siblings rotting away in the den of the Autobots was too much to bear. Soundwave gently pushed Rumble into a cell and turned on the energy bars, but he didn't leave his creation's side. Soundwave hid it well, but the truth was losing his sparklings had almost destroyed him when he awoke twenty earth years prior to realize he had lived, but they had died.

He would not allow the Autobot to desecrate the memory of his fallen children.


	4. Hide From The Seeker

_Author's Notes: Yay! Another chapter! This is the second thing I managed to post tonight! Hope everyone likes this one. This chapter is filled with sparkling mischief :)_

* * *

Chapter 4

Hide From The Seeker

Ratchet examined Video Error with great care as he poured over every fiber optic and scrap of plating. Video Error would fidget every time he was touched because he couldn't see it coming. Solarflare and Freezeframe were nervous as well, but not for Video Error's sake. They were concerned because they each had a medic hovering over them. First Aid worked on Freezeframe, and Hoist worked on Solarflare.

"Your tentacles seem to be highly sensitive," Ratchet commented as he stretched one out to get a better look at it, "What are these used for?"

"I don't know," Video Error muttered, "I guess there's a recording device in it that goes with my visor, but I don't know if that's actually what it's for."

The sparkling was clearly uncomfortable with the Doc Bot's attention. Ratchet hated to see sparklings in distress. He had seen enough of that already. He would have to tell Optimus Prime about this finding so they could be placed with loving Autobot guardians.

Oh joy...More screaming rambunctious younglings… Ratchet thought in exasperation.

"Well, what's the verdict, Ratch?" Blaster asked worriedly.

"I believe I can reroute the cameras in Video Error's tentacles to serve as optics for the mechling," Ratchet informed him, "How's it coming along over there, Hoist?"

"Oh, splendid," Hoist replied jovially from where he was examining Solarflare, "Her flame cannon just needs a little cleaning. She'll be good as new in no time!"

Freezeframe, meanwhile, kept asking every 5 minutes about his communications systems. He needed to get in touch with Soundwave, yet he didn't want to look too eager. First Aid was a bit fidgety since he was only a medic's apprentice, but he cared a great deal about making the sparkling feel comfortable. Comfort didn't matter to Freezeframe, however. He just wanted the task completed so he could call home.

"Where will the sparklings be sleeping tonight?" Ratchet asked, "I don't exactly want them taking up space in my medbay if they're healthy."

"Hm, I hadn't thought about that…" Blaster replied, "Well, I guess they could bunk with me and the cassettes. It'll be a bit crowded, but it's better than nothin' until we find somethin' better."

The sparklings did not like the sound of that! They didn't want an Autobot watching their every move, especially Blaster. Solarflare and Freezeframe just saw another Autobot, but Video Error was a vorn older, and he remembered Blaster. This guy was their father's archenemy, and he would not hesitate to terminate them if he knew they were Soundwave's sparklings.

"I've got the cannon clean," Hoist announced.

"I've done all I can on Freezeframe's comm system, but I can't repair it," First Aid replied, "It's a connection error between the sparklings, but the wireless connector I need for this repair can't be found here. Sparkling supplies are very hard to get now that no one uses Vector Sigma anymore. Maybe we can rebuild it?"

"Maybe…" Ratchet replied doubtfully.

Scrap! The sparklings couldn't communicate with the outside world! They were lucky their internal comm system still worked. At least they could talk to each other over a private frequency only used by the three of them. If only they had added another sibling to the- wait!

/Ratbat!/ Freezeframe suddenly exclaimed over the comm, /I have Ratbat patched into our frequency! We can contact Ratbat!/

/Great!/ Solarflare exclaimed in jubilation, /Not yet though. Wait until the Autobots aren't looking./

Ratchet finished attaching the cameras to a visual relay system and turned it on. The first thing Video Error noticed was how he could see in two directions at once. It was disorienting, and he felt like he was going to purge his fuel tanks. After a moment or two however, Video Error got used to the way the world looked to him now.

"So, are the sparklings all set?" Blaster asked.

"Yes Blaster," Ratchet said with an amused smile, "Just don't wear them out, and report to Optimus once they are settled."

"Can do, Doc Bot!" Blaster chirped as he led the sparklings away, "C'mon kids, I'll show you around."

"I wanna play a game!" Video Error demanded.

"Oh yeah? What kind of game?" Blaster asked curiously.

"Hide from the seeker!" Video Error replied as he bounced up and down giddily, "I'm really good at that game! Please?"

"Well...Alright," Blaster conceded, "So long as we don't go to any restricted areas."

"You be the seeker!" Solarflare insisted, "We'll be the grounders!"

Blaster chuckled and hid his face plate in his hands. Then he started counting, and the sparkling ran off to find hiding places. They would hide alright, but they would also gather intelligence.

* * *

Video Error found himself in a small room that was clearly just living quarters for one of the Autobots. Nothing much there. Just a berth, a computer terminal, a shelf, and a photo of a white femme with blue optics. Video Error stuck his tongue out at the photo. He hated blue optics! They were so...Autobot.

He heard Blaster outside, and dove under the berth. He held his intake while he listened for Blaster to walk past him. Much to his horror, Blaster came inside to look for him!

"Hm, I wonder if one of the little dudes is in Huffer's room…?" Blaster said in a sing-song voice as he held a finger to his chin and looked around the room, "Let's see...I don't see him under the desk. He's not hiding on that shelf full of blueprints. I guess he's not here…"

Video Error was relieved when he was sure Blaster was leaving, but then out of nowhere Blaster popped his head under the berth and shouted "Boo! Got'cha, Video Error!"

"Ahh! Hey, no fair!" Video Error whined.

"Gee, and you said you were good at this game," Blaster teased, "You were the first one I found."

Video Error pouted as he was led away by Blaster to search for the other sparklings.

* * *

Solarflare didn't want to play with the others and instead wanted to spy on the Autobots, so she entered the restricted area. She found a door that read "Wheeljack's Lab; AKA The Boom Room" and decided that it must be where new weapons were developed.

She snuck inside and her visor went wide when she saw the unholy mess and clutter that littered the room! Skywarp's berth room was cleaner than this supposed laboratory! She would have to dig in order to find anything of use.

She found old parts galore, and even a few explosive devices. It was all fairly standard, and none of it was useful to her. She found a callender, a clock, a blueprint of a seeker frame, and a hammer.

"Wait, this guy's designing a new type of seeker?" Solarflare said to herself, "Oh, great! Now the Autobots are trying to fly! Well, I'm sure Megatron will want to know about this!"

Solarflare subspaced the blueprint and continued her search. She was no scientist, however, and soon realized she wouldn't recognize a great new invention if it attacked her.

"Hm...I'd trash the place, but it's already trashed," Solarflare commented before she took off for the next room.

* * *

Freezeframe made it to a room filled with music. He didn't know who lived in these quarters, but he didn't want to leave. He wasn't even playing hide from the seeker anymore. He was just staying in the room because he felt like it.

He searched through the playlists, most of it earth music, and found several tracks that were witty and had complex melodies. All to himself, and all for free! He was in the matrix!

His calm was interrupted when the occupant of the room entered and caught sight of the sparkling pilfering through his things. Freezeframe cringed, expecting punishment from the Autobot, but instead the black and white mech smiled at him and sauntered over to check out the music Freezeframe had selected.

"So, your one 'a the sparklings," the mech said cheerfully, "Well, I'm glad ta see another Audiophile among our ranks. What's your name, son?"

"Freezeframe, sir," Freezeframe replied; still wary of the seemingly friendly mech.

"Cool. The name's Jazz," Jazz replied jovially.

Freezeframe felt his energon run even colder than usual at the mention of that designation. Jazz...The saboteur. The assassin! This guy was one of the deadliest and most elusive mechs in Prime's unit! The Decepticons feared his name like the mention of the boogie man, only this one actually boogied!

"So, youngling, what song you wanna listen to next?" Jazz asked as he kneeled down beside the sparkling on the floor by the stereo.

"Well, I listened to this song a couple time before you got here," Freezeframe replied timidly, "I really like it."

"Hm...Oh, The Streak?" Jazz furrowed his optic ridges after seeing the song in question, "Listen little mech, you don't wanna listen ta that one without your internal speakers. We've got a 'Bot here named Sunstreaker, and he really hates this song. It sends him into an uncontrollable rage, and I don't wanna see you get hurt. Be careful. You hear me?"

"Yes, sir," Freezeframe replied blandly, "May we listen to it together anyway?"

"Sure," Jazz replied agreeably, "Just know that you're welcome here anytime, Freezeframe. I like the company."

Freezeframe nodded but didn't say anything more. He coudln't believe he was actually hanging out with a deadly assassin and surviving! Video Error and Solarflare wouldn't believe this!

* * *

Video Error was left in Blaster's room with a cube of low grade energon while he went in search of the other two sparklings. He was told he was allowed to watch TV or listen to music.

He waited until Blaster was gone, until he was sure that he was alone, and then he opened his chest compartment. When he was an adult it was where his cassettes would go, but for now he hid his most secret treasure inside; his Megatron action figure.

It wasn't a real Megatron figure since they didn't actually sell them in the stores when Video Error lived on Cybertron. Soundwave had bought a protoform doll and attached a black cannon toy on its right arm. He had given the toy to his son when the lad was only a vorn old. Not even his siblings knew about the toy. Video Error would hug it for comfort when his father was away or things were scary, and he didn't want his brother and sister to think he was a wimp.

He heard Blaster coming back and quickly stashed the toy in his chest again before the door opened to admit Blaster and Solarflare.

"I can't believe Freezeframe won!" Solarflare yelled as soon as she was close enough for Video Error to hear her, "He gets to stay the night with a saboteur!"

"Aw, mech!" Video Error whined, "Really? That sounds so cool!"

"Hey, don't worry kids, we'll have fun tonight," Blaster assured them, "I brought a scary movie that we can all watch together. It's rated PG-13."

"What does that mean?" Solarflare asked curiously.

"It means you have to have your first upgrade before you can watch it, but I'm gonna let you watch it now," Blaster told them with a tempting smile as he waved the DVD in front of their faces.

"Well...I guess that could be fun," Solarflare conceded.

"Yeah, I guess," Video Error agreed.

As they watched the movie, they didn't realize that they weren't alone. Frenzy was in the air vent watching them, and he couldn't believe his visor! They were alive! The sparklings were alive and ready for rescue! He had to tell Soundwave!


	5. A Large Family

_Author's Notes: There was so much more I wanted to add to this chapter, but in order to keep it coherent I left it at this. Hopefully it reads well, and the next chapter should have a lot more action. I'm not sure how, this this story has turned into a sequel of sorts for You Will Care For Me. Oh well. Thanks to everyone for reading, and please leave a review if you feel like it :)_

* * *

Chapter 5

A Large Family

It was the next morning when the sparklings were brought before Optimus Prime in his office by Blaster. Solarflare was angry at the proceedings, while Video Error was terrified of what might happen to them. Freezeframe's demeanor, as usual, gave away nothing of what he was truly feeling.

"I never again thought we would see sparklings aboard the Ark," Optimus Prime said warmly; causing Video Error to wonder what again meant, "Was any useful information regarding the sparklings recovered from the pod?"

"Negative, Prime," Blaster replied, "They're still nervous and seem reluctant to chat. I don't blame them. I'd be scared too if I woke up millions of years in the future on another planet. Oh wait...I did."

Prime overlooked Blaster as he rubbed his helm and simpered in embarrassment. He too remembered the confusion and fear that came from waking up on earth. They were truly lucky to have their base and their human allies to rely upon. The sparklings would need something to count on as well, but Prime had his doubts about Blaster adopting them.

"I've looked over your adoption request," Optimus said to Blaster, "I know you will have to be the one to adopt Solarflare and Freezeframe since they are cassettes and will need a carrier's spark energy to survive."

"We don't need him!" Solarflare shouted angrily, "Video Error is a carrier! He can let us use his deck!"

"Are you saying you do not wish to be adopted by Blaster?" Prime asked intently.

Solarflare was about to say something, but was cut off by Video Error's comm signal.

/Don't say it!/ Video Error exclaimed frantically, /If Optimus Prime doesn't get offended then Blaster will! Remember, we need to keep their guard down until we can get outside and fly away./

/Oh, right.../ Solarflare replied, but she still wasn't happy about it.

Solarflare and Freezeframe didn't have the antigravity chips that allowed adult Decepticons to fly, but they did have an ace in the hole; namely Video Error. Video Error was more than a mere carrier. He was a triple changer that transformed into a cassette player as well as a streamlined jet. In fact, his entire creation had been a carefully coordinated experiment set up by Megatron, engineered by Shockwave, and carried out by Soundwave. Video Error was just a scared little sparkling now, but the Decepticon Empire had big plans for him when he upgraded.

"I didn't mean it like that, Prime," Solarflare said as she faked a shame face, "I was just saying Blaster doesn't have to do everything. Only if he wants to…"

Freezeframe's visor went wide for a mere fraction of a second, too quick for anyone to notice. He couldn't help it. Solarflare was never quiet, never remorseful, and usually a terrible actress. He was mildly impressed with her accomplishment.

Solarflare's act fooled the Prime. He smiled behind his face mask and looked through a data pad. Finally after a moment, he asked Blaster an all-important question.

"Are you certain you can handle the extra responsibility?" Prime asked, "I am concerned that you are stretching yourself too thin. After all, you already have 7 cassettes that depend on you for survival. Do you really wish to take on three more dependents?"

"No sweat, Prime. I can handle it," Blaster declared confidently, "These little guys will have the best upbringin' I can give them. I know all about sparklings, and if I do need help there are lots of mechs on board the ship that can help me. Ratchet's the best medic in the Autobot fleet, Red Alert's sparkling is the sweetest thing I've ever met, and Wheeljack can come up with all sorts of new toys for them. Everythin's gonna be alright. Let's also not forget the twins are visitin' the Ark this orn, and if anyone knows about carrier sparklings, it's Sunstreaker."

Optimus grimaced at that last remark, but decided to not press the issue. He sighed, but realized he wouldn't be able to talk Blaster out of caring for three more sparklings on top of what he already had. With a nod of his helm and the signing of a few documents, the Autobot leader had officially declared the sparklings Blaster's new children.

Blaster walked away happily with his new charges, but little did he know they were planning their escape even as they smiled up at him and pretended they didn't hate him.

* * *

Frenzy showed Soundwave the video footage he got of the sparklings, as well as showed Rumble the DVD he stole from Blaster's quarters when they all went to sleep. He didn't know what PG-13 meant, but it had to be good if sparklings weren't allowed to watch it.

Frenzy had wanted to collect the sparklings himself, but they were never left alone. Ravage had told him that Soundwave would know what to do, and that they should tell him what they found. Frenzy still felt guilty about leaving his little siblings with the Autobots though. It was just supposed to be a body retrieval mission. He never suspected it would have to evolve into a rescue mission.

Soundwave watched the report carefully. He had to think fast if he was going to rescue his sparklings from the clutches of his enemy. Megatron would normally never agree to a rescue mission, but Soundwave believed he would this time. For one thing, the victims were sparklings. The fact that they were Soundwave's sparklings was irrelevant. They were sparklings at a time when Cybertron was dying. The other reason was that a lot of money and time had been spent in building Video Error. He was destined to replace Soundwave someday as Megatron's TIC. Soundwave hoped that when that day came he would finally be given the title of SIC.

He walked onto the bridge with purpose. Megatron sat on his throne while Starscream looked over scanner readings on their large computer. Soundwave only hoped that he had second-guessed his master's reactions correctly. If Megatron decided to leave the sparklings alone then Soundwave would never get his beloved creations back.

"Lord Megatron, Frenzy brings a report," Soundwave said without emotion; knowing he needed to sound normal so Megatron would take his word at face value.

Megatron quirked an optic ridge. He was used to Ravage and Laserbeak bringing back reports. Frenzy usually preferred fighting to spying, so now Megatron wondered why Soundwave dispatched Frenzy. Did he believe the extra muscle would be necessary?

"Show me," Megatron ordered.

Soundwave then took Frenzy out of his tape deck in cassette mode and placed him inside the drive for the computer console.

"Hey!" Starscream hollered irritably, "I was using that!"

The tape played on the screen despite Starscream's objections, and soon the scene of Blaster and the three sparklings played for all to see. Suddenly Starscream's entire demeanor changed, and he looked every bit as angry as Soundwave felt.

"Those _miserable_ Autobots!" Starscream screeched, "How _dare_ they!? Megatron, we cannot allow this insult to stand!"

"Hm...Are those your sparklings, Soundwave?" Megatron asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, Lord Megatron," Soundwave replied as if it were nothing, though the question made the rage inside more difficult to contain.

"I see…" Megatron pondered his next action while his senior officers waited with stalled intakes to see what he would decide to do, "...Starscream, organize a strike force. We attack the Autobot base at nightfall!"

"Yes!" Starscream cheered, "Finally you see reason!"

Soundwave showed no visible signs of relief, but inside his spark he welled up with anticipation to strike down the Autobots that dared to keep his sparklings from him. That blasted Blaster would especially pay for his actions against Soundwave and the mighty Decepticons!

* * *

"Hey! The movie's gone!" Video Error exclaimed when he looked for the PG-13 movie they watched the night before, "Hey Solarflare, you seen that scary movie with the squid people?"

"OF course, we saw it last night," Solarflare replied; missing the point of his question.

"No, I mean- never mind," Video Error gave up his search, "I'm bored! Can't we do something fun while we're waiting for Freezeframe to come back from spying on the Autobots?"

"We could play the quiet game," Solarflare deadpanned.

"Nobody likes the quiet game!" Video Error argued, "Parents just made that up to keep sparklings from bugging them! I wanna play something else!"

Just then, Blaster came back in the door carrying 11 cubes of energon on a huge tray. He looked like he'd spill the contents any second, but he somehow managed to keep the tray steady until he placed it on his berth. Solarflare and Video Error walked up to get their ration, and then Blaster released 7 Cassettibots!

Solarflare wasn't used to seeing so many of the same frame type as her that weren't family. Carriers were very rare in the modern age, and that made their symbiotes rare as well. There were two humanoid twins, a rhinoceros, a lion, a dog, a bird, and a...thing with lots of legs.

"Hey look, new people! They smell like space!" The dog exclaimed with more energy than those statements required.

"Don't make them feel too uncomfortable," one of the humanoid cassettes chastised the dog, "Forgive my friend here. He's a recent transfer. My name is Rewind. What's yours?"

"I'm Solarflare," Solarflare was the first to answer, "This is my older brother Video Error. We're staying with Blaster for a while."

"Oh, so will you be staying in his deck or Blaster's?" The rhinoceros asked curiously as he pointed to Video Error and then Blaster.

"Definitely Video Error's," Solarflare replied, "So, how many of you speak vocal Cybertronian?"

"I do," Rewind informed her, "Actually, all three of my singlings do. This is my twin Eject, this is my older brother Steeljaw, and the youngest of my spark-siblings, Ramhorn."

"Nice to meet all of you," Video Error replied, "And these three?"

"Shriek," the bird-bot replied coolly, "The moron is Screwball and our resident 8-legged Encyclopedia Cybertronia is Turret."

"Turret believes you are both Decepticon spies," Turret said without preamble.

"What? _No_! That's crazy!" Solarflare's voice pitched too high when she said that; ruining her chances at appearing innocent.

"Don't be such a wet sprocket, Turret," Eject dismissed the spider-bot's accusations, "Listen, we better finish up this energon quick. The game's starting soon and I don't wanna miss the opening."

"Game?" Video Error was definitely listening now, "What game?"

"The football game," Eject replied cheerfully, "It's association football, so there'll be a lot of kicking and scoring will be very difficult. Now rugby football and its cousin American football are completely different. With those two it's all about pushing the other team back and brute strength, but association football is all about agility and footwork; more of a true football if you will."

Video Error didn't understand a word Eject was saying, but he didn't care. He was talking about local games, and Video Error was bored enough to want to try them. Solarflare rolled her optics at her brother's eagerness to listen to some slagging Autobot discuss sports.

Freezeframe came back in at that moment. He had hoped to get back before Blaster, but he didn't make it, and when he saw the large gathering on the berth refueling and talking he knew there was no way he'd get out of this without an explanation.

"Hey Freezeframe," Blaster called out jovially, "You better get over here before your energon loses its potency."

Freezeframe did as he was told; grateful that Blaster trusted him enough to not ask where he had been.

/So Freezeframe, where were you?/ Solarflare asked over the comm.

/In Jazz's office,/ Freezeframe replied, /He's rarely there, and there's lots of surveillance footage. I also downloaded that earth song I like; The Streak./

"Why do you like that song?" Solarflare accidentally asked out loud.

"What song?" Steeljaw asked, and Solarflare cringed.

"The Streak," Freezeframe replied.

"Ooh, big mistake," Shriek replied with a cringe of her own, "The twins are visiting the Ark from their new post this week. Sunstreaker hates that song."

Freezeframe was going to reply, but he never got the chance. The room shook, and any unfinished energon spilled all over the berth and the floor! Blaster held onto the cassettes protectively as the room shook again, and after a few seconds they realized what was causing the rumbling...a barrage.

They were under attack!


	6. Confrontation

Chapter 6

Confrontation

The Decepticons came in full force against the Autobots. Megatron led the charge as usual, but everyone knew this mission was really on Soundwave's behalf. Honestly though, most of them couldn't give a slag about Soundwave. The Decepticon lower ranks didn't so much like Soundwave as fear his constant surveillance.

"Decepticons, attack!" Megatron roared.

With that battle cry, the Decepticons began firing on the Ark itself! It was a useless gesture, but the point wasn't to destroy the Ark; only to show their aggressive intentions.

The Autobots came out in droves to meet the threat to their base head-on. Megatron usually wasn't so bold as to attack the Ark. Optimus Prime found this curious, but didn't have time to question it since shots were being fired in his direction. Only a skeleton crew was left behind inside the Ark. They needed as many Autobots as possible to protect their base.

Megatron smirked before he once again locked horns with the Prime. The Autobots were buying this distraction hook line and sinker. With the Decepticons fighting the Autobots Soundwave would have plenty of time to locate and retrieve Megatron's future warriors. The Slag Maker allowed himself to smile once again at the thought even as Optimus took a swing at him with his energy axe.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside the Ark, Blaster rounded up the cassettes and Video Error and was ushering them into an interior room to protect them. Steeljaw and Ramhorn objected to being treated like sparklings, until they realized this was for the benefit of the actual sparklings.

Blaster took them into the armory and shut the door behind them so he could go and protect Teletran 1 from intruders. He had heard from Jazz that a 'Con was spotted entering the base, and Blaster was the closest one to the intruder. He ran with all his might hoping backup was coming as well. If this was like when the Constructicons broke in, then they would need every mech they could get.

The 10 little Cyebrtronians sat in the room for a moment listening to see if Blaster was gone, and then the three sparklings nodded to one another. This was the perfect moment to make their move.

"Well, it's been fun, but we're outta here," Solarflare declared offhandedly as the three turned to casually leave.

"What do you mean, _outta here_?" Eject asked challengingly, "There's a fight going on! You can't leave!"

"Sure we can," video Error replied with a lopsided grin, "We're with the band."

Blaster's brood stood there in confusion as Video Error hacked the lock with his tentacle and escorted his siblings out of the armor vault. It wasn't easy since his tentacles were pretty much his optics now, and he had to get really close to the lock. Close enough that he saw the organic dust on the door and everything!

The sparklings made to retreat, but at the last second Solarflare stopped, and the cassettes thought she was changing her mind. She actually just came back to collect a few small guns for her and her brothers. The cassettes made to follow them, but once they got out in the hall the sparklings were gone!

"What do we do now?" Eject asked dejectedly, "We've been red carded."

"What else?" Ramhorn shrugged, "Grab some weapons and join the fray!"

Blaster, meanwhile, ran for Teletran 1 and hoped he wasn't too late to save it from Megatron's greedy servos. To his horror, however, he had walked in on Soundwave standing at the controls! This wasn't right though. Normally Soundwave would hack the console for usable data, but this time he had smashed the keyboard with his fist and had pulled out a string of wires! Why was Soundwave trying to destroy the computer instead of stealing from it?

"Soundwave!" Blaster shouted with all the vehemence of a soap opera diva.

"Blaster: prepare to perish," Soundwave threatened as his visor glowed blood red in anger.

Soundwave had checked the logs of Teletran 1 before destroying it, and he knew what Blaster was trying to do. That overgrown Speak N Spell was trying to take his sparklings away from him! It was no wonder why he smashed the console in anger.

Soundwave emitted a sonic blast, which Blaster countered with a sonic blast of his own! They each fell back against opposite walls, and got up practically in sync and glared at each other. Soon Blaster was rushing toward Soundwave and punched him in the face plates, but Soundwave just turned around and landed a roundhouse kick to Blaster's chassis!

"Hey dude, not cool!" Blaster exclaimed, "I have 7 symbiotes that need that space!"

"Blaster's needs: irrelevant," Soundwave replied, "Return the sparklings."

"The sparklings?" Blaster repeated, "I would never surrender those precious younglings to an evil Decepticon like you!"

"Return the sparklings," Soundwave repeated; changing neither tone nor inflection.

Blaster knew now. The Decepticons were trying to recruit sparklings for their cause. He wasn't about to allow Megatron to use child soldiers to further his agenda. The Decepticons had tried to take sparklings from the Autobots before, and Blaster wasn't about to let that happen again. If only he had known the real reason for Soundwave's concern.

They turned on each other once more, and the battle between the two audiophiles raged on.

* * *

Outside the Ark, the sparklings were running out the door toward freedom. They fully expected the Decepticons to welcome them back with open arms and for their father to be there to greet them. This...wasn't what happened.

Autobots and Decepticons alike were shooting at each other and battling each other like there was no tomorrow, and the laser fire came close several times to hitting the sparklings! One of Skywarp's shots almost landed on Video Error's foot! They wanted to duck, but there was no place to go for cover except the Ark, and they weren't going back in _there_.

The battleground was scary, and the sparklings didn't know what to do. As much as they wanted to join the battles and fight alongside their creator, they had never actually been in a fight. Well, they had once, but that ended in 4 million years of stasis. They did not feel like reliving _that one_.

Video Error took the lead and ran with his siblings along the edges of the Ark. They were working their way to freedom when they found themselves behind a very familiar figure...Ironhide.

Ironhide was busy trying to protect his own plates and that of his friends when he noticed a shadow sneaking up behind him. He didn't know who it was, and had no time to do more than react. He whipped around and shot, hitting Solarflare in the leg! She moaned as she went down and clung to her leg, and Ironhide felt horrible for what he had just done.

"Not again!" Solarflare yelled; remembering the last time Ironhide shot them.

"Aw, no! I'm so sorry, youngin'," Ironhide said apologetically, "Here, let me help you. We'll get you back to Ratchet for repairs."

Ironhide was leaning down to pick up the sparkling, and Solarflare was shouting "No! No! No! Get away from me! No!" The red Autobot almost had Solarflare when a burst of ice shot from Freezeframe's cannon and froze Ironhide where he crouched!

"Seriously Freezeframe? You shot the ice-powered Autobot with _ice_?" Video Error asked incredulously.

"It worked," Freezeframe unabashedly pointed out.

"Whatever!" Video Error snapped, "Just grab Solarflare and hang onto me. I'm going to transform!"

Freezeframe did just so, and Video Error transformed into a jet and took off with them before anyone could be alerted to Ironhide's condition. A Stunticon named Dead End saw the whole thing, but made no moves to pursue the sparklings or offline the Autobot. He simply didn't feel like it.

The sparklings were grateful to have escaped, but now they were seeing earth for the first time, and were overwhelmed by how organic it was. Nothing looked natural to them, and they were hopelessly lost on a planet they didn't understand with an injured comrade. Solarflare was still leaking energon, so they had to land. Freezeframe shot his cannon to put ice on the wound, which earned an unfriendly glare from the fire-based femmeling.

"Well...Now what?" Freezeframe asked Video Error.

"Now...We set up camp."

* * *

Blaster was beaten to a pulp. Normally he was an even match for Soundwave, but he never expected the 'Con to fight dirty the way Soundwave had this day. Soundwave didn't care that he broke every flimsy honor code he ever had, he only wanted his babies back.

He forced Blaster to his pedes by grabbing him by the neck cables and asked in a dangerous tone "Where are the sparklings?"

"I...I won't tell you…" Blaster croaked defiantly.

"Then prepare to-" but before Soundwave could finish his threat, he heard the sound of little pedes running across the floor.

Soundwave looked in the direction of the hall, hoping it was his sparklings coming to greet him, but it turned out to be Steeljaw.

"Where...How…?" Blaster asked as he hung limply by his neck cables in Soundwave's merciless grasp.

"The sparklings! They're gone!" Steeljaw exclaimed frantically, "I tried to follow them, but they were faster than me!"

"Where?" Soundwave asked Steeljaw.

Steeljaw eyed the 'Con furiously and growled in a low tone. He hated Soundwave almost as much as Blaster did, but who he really hated was Frenzy since the red and black Minicon once tied his tail in a bow as a cruel prank. Ravage was a rival, but he at least respected Ravage as a warrior. Frenzy and Rumble were just jerks.

"I don't know where they are, but even if I did I wouldn't tell you!" Steeljaw replied with pure unadulterated ire.

"Ravage: eject," Soundwave ordered his black panther cassette, "Operation: sniff out sparklings."

Soundwave waited patiently while Ravage sniffed around for the sparklings' ion trails. The blue and white carrier just hoped he wasn't too late. If the Autobots had corrupted his youngest sparklings, there would be pit to pay!

Soundwave's communicator alerted him to an incoming comm, and was surprised to see it was Dead End.

"Hello Soundwave," Dead End greeted him; sounding thoroughly bored, "I have been informed by Motormaster that I have to tell you I saw the sparklings."

"Condition of sparklings?" Soundwave asked.

"Alive, from what I could tell, poor things," Dead End informed Soundwave, "Ironhide shot one of them, but I'm pretty sure it lived."

Ironhide. Soundwave was getting sick of that old warrior. This was the second time he had shot at Soundwave's sparklings and nearly killed them. Oh, that Autobot was _definitely_ going on the personal vendetta list...


	7. Welcome To The Jungle

_Author's Notes: This is a slightly longer chapter than I normally do on this story. Hopefully I can keep doing long chapters. Please review, favorite, and follow to see more of this story :)_

* * *

Chapter 7

Welcome To The Jungle

The ice eventually wore off, but Solarflare's injury was still slightly leaking energon. Her self repair systems had done what they could, but she needed to see a medic if she was going to be okay. Her brothers searched their subspaces for anything that could help her, and Video Error came up with a roll of heat resistant tape. It wasn't much, but he put it over the small wound for the time being.

The three sparklings were lost in the forest they had flown into and weren't sure where to go from there. At first they just kept flying, but then after a few hours Video Error's energon reserves ran low, so they had to land. They found themselves in a dark and lonely place with lots of giant alien plants and creepy noises everywhere.

Video Error recorded some of the sights and sounds to use later. Because of his sigma ability he had a strange hobby of recording random footage and then using it in everyday conversation. He mostly did it because it annoyed his sister.

There was a rustling of leaves, and that caused Video Error to jump up and squeal in fright, which only served to make his siblings laugh at him.

"Oh, pit! You are such a squishy!" Solarflare taunted him as she continued to laugh.

"What? It could be a giant monster come to eat us!" Video Error argued, but then cringed when he realized what he just said.

"Nothing on this planet eats metal," Freezeframe replied calmly.

"You don't know that!" Video Error screamed, "Besides, there is something on this planet we know eats metal: Insecticons!"

"Insta-what?" Solarflare asked; confused.

"Don't you remember what Blaster said?" Video Error asked, and then played back a conversation they had with Blaster during their medical exam, " _We rescued your pod from the Insecticons. They're real bad dudes. They're mutated Decepticons that eat anythin' from organic matter to metal and everythin' in between. I remember once they tried to eat Ironhide_!"

"Heh heh, yeah, I remember now. That was funny," Solarflare commented, "Ironhide getting eaten alive…"

"Ah, I see now. You mean that the Insecticons could eat us," Freezeframe posited; his tone not at all conveying the horror those words should invoke.

"Exactly!" Video Error exclaimed.

Just then they heard more noise coming from up in a tree. At first the sparklings tried to ignore it, but then they heard giggling, and they stopped in their tracks!

"Is it an Instacon?" Solarflare whispered; still getting the name wrong.

"I don't know," Video Error whispered back ominously, "Should we run?"

"There is no point," Freezeframe replied grimly, "You don't have the energy to fly, and the Insecticons are fliers. They will catch us if they want us. The best course of action is to hide and hope they don't see us."

"Wow! New people!" A high pitched girly voice squealed, and the sparklings all screamed and looked up the tree to see if they could spot their doom.

What they saw wasn't an Insecticon, but it wasn't exactly welcome. In the darkness they could see a pair of tiny blue optics looking down on them, and a small body climbing down the tree to meet them. It was hard to see details, but it was clear that this was a minibot; maybe even a sparkling.

Solarflare charged her flame cannon and aimed it right at the stranger.

"Alright Autobot, _talk_! How did you find us?" Solarflare demanded in a harsh tone.

"Find you? I wasn't even looking for you!" The newcomer replied defensively, "Who are you anyway? I haven't seen new sparklings since arriving on earth five years ago. Say, is that a cannon? Is it attached? Do you have sigma abilities?"

"Yeah, we have sigma abilities," Solarflare replied warily, "I have the power to melt your face off with my mighty flame, and I'm not afraid to use it!"

"I have liquid nitrogen guns akin to Ironhide," Freezeframe explained, "By the way, my name is Freezeframe. That is my sister Solarflare and my brother Video Error. We're trying to find our way back to our father."

"And if you tattle on us to the other Autobots, we'll kill you!" Solarflare added gruffly.

"Cool! You were adopted, too?" The other sparkling asked; ignoring Solarflare's hostility.

"No, we mean out real father," Video Error clarified, "We're going back no matter what!"

"Wow...You have a _real_ father?" The sparkling seemed amazed to learn this about the trio, "Can I help?"

"Help?" Video Error asked, "You want to help us return to our dad? Why?"

"Because every sparkling should be with their families," the other sparkling replied, "My name is Phobia, by the way. Have you guys met my daddy? His name is Red Alert, and he's the security chief on the Ark. Someday I'm gonna run security on a ship too! He said I could apply for the job when I'm older and complete my training. So who's your daddy? Is he nice? Do you have any more siblings? Tell me everything!"

"We should kill her," Solarflare deduced, "Her father's in charge of security, and you know what that means…"

"Interrogation," Freezeframe finished her thought for her, "Her constant questioning is proof of this fact."

"What…?" Phobia couldn't believe they were talking about her like she wasn't even there, "...You're serious? I thought attached sparklings were nicer than this! You act just like an orphan gang!"

"We don't have to kill her!" Video Error stood between his paranoid siblings and the cause of their phobia; namely Phobia, "We can just tie her to this tree and run away. The Autobots will find her eventually, but we'll be long gone by then. Say, if you weren't looking for us, then what are you doing out in this desolate wilderness?"

"Desolate?" Phobia repeated, "We're like 50 mechano-meters from the Ark! I come out here sometimes to sneak away and play in the trees. Daddy doesn't like it when I climb trees, and he doesn't like it when I'm out at night, so I have to wait until he's recharging."

"You mean we flew around in circles?" Solarflare whined, "Thanks a _lot_ , Video Error!"

"So nobody knows you're here?" Video Error asked intently; ignoring his sister's accusations.

"No," Phobia answered honestly; not realizing the mistake she just made.

With lightning speed, Video Error used his tentacles to grab the hapless Autobot sparkling and lift her in the air! Phobia screamed and struggled, but Video Error was older and stronger than her! He slammed her against a tree and Freezeframe took a chain out of his subspace to tie her up with.

"Where did you get that chain from?" Solarflare asked when she saw it.

"I have a life outside of you two," was Freezeframe's only answer.

"Hurry up!" Video Error barked, "I can't see without my tentacles!"

Phobia struggled with the larger sparkling until she managed to pull one of her arms free. While they were distracted talking about the chain, Phobia attached the servo of her right arm onto Video Error's tentacle and started sucking out the energon!

"AAHHH! What's happening!?" Video Error shrieked in panic.

"Holy pit, it's an energon leech!" Solarflare screamed when she realized what was happening.

Video Error released his hold on the Autobot sparkling, but she continued to drain him of his vital fluids! He was small enough that she could bleed him dry! Freezeframe froze one of her legs In ice, and Phobia looked at him with frightened optics.

"Release him, or I freeze the rest of you," Freezeframe told her in a calm controlled voice.

Phobia complied wordlessly, and once he was free Video Error ran far away from the deadly Autobot; his sibling soon following him. After a few minutes they looked back, but the leech was nowhere in sight. What was in sight was an orange metallic structure. It could only be the Ark.

"The Autobots have a _leech_ ," Video Error said the last word as if it were a curse, "How are we supposed to combat that thing?"

"Well, at least it didn't look like she knew how to use energy projectiles yet," Freezeframe replied less than reassuringly, "Some leeches can produce energy from the same tubes they feed from. It is quite painful from what I hear."

The three sparklings looked up at the imposing structure of the Ark. They had a decision to make. Do they return to the place where Autobots and Optimus Prime awaited them, or do they try to find their way around an unforgiving alien world in search of their dad? Neither option seemed very appealing at the moment.

* * *

Soundwave's capture had been difficult to say the least. The Autobots had come to the aid of Blaster and his cassettes when they saw Soundwave poking around the Ark. At first they tried to be reasonable with the blue and white carrier, but when Soundwave tried to hold Steeljaw hostage in exchange for the sparklings he had gone too far. It took four Autobots to hold him down, and his sonic blast had nearly caused Ironhide to go deaf! Fortunately, Jazz and Blaster were both used to that level of noise.

At the moment Soundwave was tied down to his berth in his cell. This was a critical time for the Autobots. They knew the Decepticons had been sending a bunch of supplies off world. They were planning something, and if the Autobots didn't figure out what that something was it could spell their destruction. They were barely holding the moonbases as it was, and might have to send senior officers from earth to man them. Soundwave's intel could be crucial for them, but they didn't yet know how to get him to talk.

Jazz and Blaster walked together toward the brig, and Jazz noticed the hard stony look in Blaster's optics as well as the scowl that betrayed his hatred for the other carrier. Jazz would normally handle the questioning of a prisoner of war, but Blaster had insisted on being the one to interrogate Soundwave. Jazz wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"Hey Blaster, I'm thinkin' I should be the one ta handle this," Jazz suggested with concern in his tone.

"No way mech, Soundwave's _mine_ ," Blaster growled in a low tone of voice.

Jazz had never seen Blaster like this. There was clearly something the red and yellow stereo wasn't telling him. Just as Blaster was about to go through the door to the brig, Jazz stepped in front of him and spread his arms out to prevent him from going in there.

"Blaster, no," Jazz said firmly, "You're not goin' in there until you tell me what's goin' on. You're actin' weird."

"Jazz, I need to do this," Blaster said with an edge to his voice.

"No, you don't," Jazz argued, "If you're gonna let your emotions get in the way of your work, then you shouldn't be in there. I know Soundwave is a bad dude, but this feels personal."

"It is personal," Blaster admitted shamelessly, "You have no idea what that mech has done to me! He ruined my life, and he ruined the lives of so many innocent beings! I can't let him get away with that again. It's because of him that those sparklings are missing!"

"Hey, man! Don't worry about that. The search parties will find the sparklings. They'll be okay," Jazz said consolingly, "Now, you wanna tell me what Soundwave did ta make you this upset?"

Blaster looked down at the ground, exhaled, and looked up again to face Jazz. His gaze was troubled and far away. He looked like the perfect picture of misery. Finally he nodded to Jazz and began to tell his story.

"It all started with my radio station," Blaster explained morosely, "During the early days of the war I had a radio station where I would broadcast Autobot-friendly shock-jock freedom-fighter programming."

"I remember it," Jazz replied fondly, "You helped us keep our heads when times looked bleak and the Decepticons controlled the rest of the media."

"Yeah, well, they tried to control me too, but my voice would not be silenced by the likes of Buckethead and his merry minions," Blaster said with disdain, "I only had a small place to work out of, and only one other person to help me run the place. That was my assistant Shaboom. She was a young purple carrier with the roundest speakers I've ever seen on a femme. She was resourceful, kind, and believed in our cause. She and I weren't dating or anything, but I always wanted to ask her out. Oh, I'm gettin' off track here.

"The point is, it was durin' this time in my career that I met Soundwave. Well, at first I didn't meet him. He started spyin' on my operation and started watchin' me. He was tryin' to dig up dirt on me, and when he couldn't find any he made somethin' up. My rep was smeared, and even some of my friends turned against me. Then he went after my station. Burned it to the ground. That was when I first saw him. Soundwave and his cassette minions had torched the place and were running away. I saw them, and I will never forget the cold cruel look that mech gave me.

"I didn't give up though. Shaboom and I turned to Optimus Prime himself, and he helped us find a new place to broadcast from. For a while it was great, but Soundwave wasn't done with us yet. I returned to the station one day to find that Shaboom had been murdered. She was killed by a sonic blast to the processor. There was a card that said 'Decepticons superior, Autobots inferior'. It was signed by Soundwave. He didn't even care that I knew it was him! Shortly after that I was captured by the Decepticons and Megatron wanted to kill me. Soundwave told him that killin' me wasn't enough. That was when I was introduced to the sensory deprivation box. I was left without light or sound for 3 orns, and I just wanted to die. He had taken everythin' from me. What was left? But I survived, and now he's gonna regret not killin' me when he had the chance."

"I can't say I agree with this," Jazz told him, "But I do understand why you feel you need ta do this. Just don't kill him. We need that information, but try to be civil. We ain't Decepticons. We're better than that. Show 'im."

Blaster nodded curtly and stepped around Jazz to get through the door. He knew Jazz was just trying to help him keep his senses and his morality, but Blaster was tired of Soundwave always getting away with everything he did. Out of all the Decepticons Soundwave was not only one of the most efficient, but also one of the hardest ones to capture. He hurt others with impunity, and Blaster was tired of that being allowed to continue.

He shut down the energy bars and entered the cell where Soundwave was being held. The Decepticon communications officer stared up at the ceiling and did not acknowledge Blaster's presence.

"Hey, Soundwave! We need to talk," Blaster said forcefully.

Soundwave did not respond in any way.

"Soundwave, I know you can hear me," Blaster chided him, "Now we don't wanna hurt you. If you just answer my questions honestly then you will be given back to Megatron. I'm sure you're lookin' forward to seein' ol' slagface again. Now tell me Soundwave, why have you 'Cons been transporting so many materials from earth to Cybertron on the space bridge?"

Soundwave said nothing.

"Alright Soundwave, this isn't funny," Blaster said through gritted denta, "Just tell me what your lord and master is plannin', and you won't have to see me anymore. Okay? Where did you get your supplies?"

"Blaster: outmoded," Soundwave replied after another moment of awkward silence.

" _What_? That's it!" Blaster snapped, "I tried to be civil, but you've left me no choice!"

Blaster then pulled an electric prod out of his subspace. It was a tool he sometimes used to supercharge his faulty recharge berth, but today he had a much more sinister purpose for it…

Blaster pushed the prod into the crack of Soundwave's tape deck; causing the whole thing to spark and Soundwave's body to convulse! Smoke came out from the edges of Soundwave's compartment, and Blaster faintly heard the screams and moans of Soundwave's cassettes; who were still inside.

Blaster went slack as he realized what he had just done. It was one thing to harm Soundwave, but to hurt cassettes in front of their carrier was just...wrong. Blaster couldn't believe what he had just done.

Soundwave said nothing. He didn't even vent. He wouldn't give the Autobot the satisfaction of seeing how much the pain of his symbiotes hurt him. He could feel their agony over the spark bond he shared with them, and that hurt him more than any torture that could be done to him personally. If he showed that it hurt him, that would only encourage the Autobot to do it again.

"Soundwave, release your Cassetticons," Blaster ordered, "This is between you and me. I don't want to hurt them again."

"Negative," Soundwave replied through static, "You attempt to trick me. Blaster's ploy: transparent."

Blaster didn't know what to do about this situation, but soon his mind was far away from that as Hound came into the room and said "Blaster! We found them! The sparklings have been recovered!"

Soundwave paid attention to that one. He suddenly began to pull at his restraints and tried to escape his berth! His sparklings were close! He had to save them from this maniac!

"That's good news," Blaster replied with a relieved smile, "Send them to Jazz until I can tend to them."

Jazz? The saboteur? No! He was worse than Blaster! Soundwave fought with all his might to escape the berth, but unfortunately he was more equipped for surveillance than physical strength.

" ** _Noooo_**!" Soundwave's voice was mixed with his sonic power, and it made the other two mechs in the room need to cover their audio sensors, " _Return them to me! Give me back my sparklings_! **_Now_**!"

Blaster's optics were wide as saucers when he heard that one! This was the most emotional he had ever heard Soundwave act, and the Decepticon had revealed one other crucial detail. The sparklings belonged to him.


	8. Just Sparklings

_Author's Notes: Well, first of all, this chapter gets kind of violent. Just a fair warning. Also, I've got to say collaborating with another person on a fic is an interesting experience. I don't know where my ideas end and **GoldenIceNinja's** begin. For example, in the last chapter it was his idea to have Soundwave be interrogated by Blaster and have the cassettes screaming in pain out of a smoking tape deck. I thought that was a good idea because I've never seen it done before. My idea was to give Blaster a tragic backstory so his actions would be believable. Teamwork. There's nothing quite like it :)_

* * *

Chapter 8

Just Sparklings

Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe found themselves back in Blaster's quarters just like last time. This was getting old. They didn't want to be with the Autobots. They wanted to be with their dad.

They had waited until Blaster was asleep, and then decided to sneak off and see what trouble they could get into. If they had to stay with the Autobots, they should at least be allowed to enjoy themselves.

Video Error walked down the corridor with his siblings in his tape deck. He had room in there now, though he didn't tell them how. He didn't want his secret to be revealed, but he had lost his Megatron toy, and he really missed it. He had dropped it when they escaped, and he really wanted it back. It comforted him when he was upset, and it had been a special gift from their father. He didn't tell them though, because he didn't want to appear weak to them.

He kept moving until he saw two Autobots coming their way, so he retracted his tentacles and flattened himself against the wall. He hoped it would be enough. He couldn't tell because without the tentacles he was blind. Stupid liquid nitrogen…

"So Sunny, you hear about Soundwave?" A voice asked its companion.

"No Sides, why would I care about that fragger?" The other voice asked derisively.

 _Soundwave_? Video Error's audio sensors perked up at the sound of his creator's designation. These new Autobots knew something about his father. He had to know what it was, and started recording just in case it was important.

"I hear he's in the brig down in the lower levels," The first voice informed the second, "They said he was interrogated by Blaster! Can you believe that? I didn't think that guy could hurt a fly."

"Interrogated could just mean questioned," The second voice pointed out.

"No Sunny, I heard Soundwave got it good," The first voice sounded almost pleased with this result, "Serves him right. I couldn't even count all the horrible things he's done to the Autobots over the vorns. That no good 'Con and his stupid little cassette minions had it coming! Whatever they got was too good for them!"

"Sides, can we just drop it?" The second voice asked; sounding both offended and depressed.

"Oh, sure, whatever…" The first voice dropped in volume, and the footsteps continued down the hall, telling Video Error that the Autobots were gone and they were safe to roam the halls once again.

"Hey Slagger! Let us out!" Solarflare shouted from inside the tape deck.

Video Error complied, and Solarflare and Freezeframe transformed into their robot modes. He then released his tentacles so he could see the world around him.

"We've gotta rescue Dad!" Solarflare announced without preamble.

"I know, but how?" Video Error asked.

"Easy," Freezeframe replied, "We go down to the brig, release his bonds, and escape with him."

It wasn't so much a plan as it was a goal, but Video Error and Solarflare agreed with Freezeframe that it really would be that easy. They were, after all, just sparklings and sometimes sparklings don't think things through.

* * *

It took half an hour for the sparklings to find the brig. They didn't know the Ark very well and it was easy for them to get lost. It was Video Error who finally found the door they were looking for, and they could already feel the bond between themselves, their father, and their 6 siblings. Something was wrong though. They felt intense pain coming from all the other bonds. What had the Autobots _done_ to them?

The sparklings burst through the door to see Soundwave lying on a berth in a cell with energy bars. He was strapped down, and his frame looked fried from his helm to his pedes! The sparklings gasped in unison at the sight of their father's injuries.

"What did they do, set him on fire!?" Solarflare asked hotly.

"Hey, who's there?" The Autobot guarding the cell asked.

The sparklings turned around to see a minibot staring back at them with a grumpy expression on his face plate. He was red and blue with a wide round helm and no neck cables. He wasn't big, but he looked scary to the sparklings nonetheless.

The Autobot walked closer to them, and the sparklings backed away until their backs were against the wall next to the energy bars of the cell.

"Hey, you're the sparklings, right?" The Autobot asked, "Well, I ain't no sparkling sitter, so get lost! Go back to Blaster or something."

The sparklings all looked at each other with dread. If they went back to Blaster then they would lose their opportunity to rescue their father. They had to get this Autobot off their tailpipes, and fast!

Freezeframe casually walked in front of the energy bars, knowing the Autobot would be stupid enough to follow him. The Autobot did just as Freezeframe predicted and walked over to where Freezeframe was standing.

/Alright Video Error, smash him into the bars,/ Freezeframe ordered.

Video Error nodded and waited until Freezeframe wasn't directly in front of the Autobot guard. Once the Autobot was in position, Video Error lifted the minibot off the ground with his tentacles and rammed him into the electrifying energy! The pressure injured the Autobot guard as well as short-circuited the bars, so it was a win-win for the sparklings.

The sparklings ran into the cell and Solarflare immediately started melting the cuffs pinning Soundwave down to the berth with her flame cannon. Soundwave was barely conscious, but he woke up fully when he saw his sparklings standing around him and trying to free him.

"So-Solarflare...Freezeframe...Return," Soundwave barely managed to speak those words as static filled his vocalizer.

His chest compartment opened to reveal six charred cassettes in various states of disrepair. Solarflare and Freezeframe looked at each other dubiously, but did not wish to disobey their father, so they transformed into cassette mode and placed themselves inside Soundwave's welcoming tape deck.

Video Error pulled on Soundwave's arm to try to get him to sit up. Everything on Soundwave hurt, and his hip joints protested as he forced them to move. He sat up with great difficulty, and then looked down at Video Error's cracked visor and camera-lensed tentacles looking up at him. Soundwave could tell the youngling was anxious and his spark practically pleaded for them to return to the Decepticons.

"Video Error…" Soundwave took his time speaking so as not to hurt himself further, "Operation...Escape. Video Error...Lead the way."

"Dad, I lost my favorite toy," Video Error said sadly.

Soundwave knew that the toy was unimportant at the moment. He knew their lives were in danger and they needed to escape. Still, he also understood that Video Error was young, and that toy was one of only a few possessions he had in the universe. He placed a comforting servo on Video Error's helm. They couldn't go back for the toy, but at least he could show that he cared about his son's feelings.

Soundwave forced himself to stand up and hold Video Error's servo in his own. They had to escape, and he would have to trust that his creation could get them home. He was just grateful that his children had not died, and that soon everything would be as it was supposed to be.

When the Decepticons left the Autobot guard finally came to. He looked around, saw that his prisoner had escaped, and knew what he had to do.

/This is Gears calling Red Alert,/ Gears said over the comm system, /Soundwave has escaped. Three minicons aided in his escape. There are 4 Decepticons. I repeat. There are 4 Decepticons loose in the Ark!/

* * *

Video Error led Soundwave down several corridors and they even climbed through a repair conduit to get to the upper level of the ship. They couldn't risk using the elevator lest the Autobots corner them, and the Ark had no stairs. Skywarp would be so disappointed, Video Error thought when he remembered how the purple and black seeker liked to push prank victims down the stairs back at the old Darkmount HQ on Cybertron.

Soundwave was moving slowly, and Video Error had to stop several times to make sure his dad was still behind him. Whatever the Autobots did to him, it must've been pretty gruesome. Video Error wasn't about to stay in this madhouse and allow the Autobots to processor-wash him into being one of them. At this point he would rather die.

When the two made it to the hallway that housed the armory, they were met by an Autobot blocking the exit. It was Ironhide. They turned around to run, but saw another Autobots blocking that exit. Soundwave recognized him as Red Alert.

Soundwave opened his chest compartment and ordered all of his cassettes to transform and fight with them! Most of them were too badly damaged to help, but Freezeframe and Solarflare were still well enough to contribute. Under normal circumstances, Soundwave would never allow his sparklings to fight, but they were cornered and it might be the only chance they had to escape with their lives. He only hoped they were ready.

"Surrender Decepticon, an' we might go easy on ya," Ironhide growled dangerously.

"Negative," Soundwave replied, "Surrender: unacceptable. Attack."

With that command the sparklings went after Red Alert while Soundwave went after Ironhide! 5 of the 6 injured cassettes tried to back against the walls so they wouldn't get stepped on, but Buzzsaw decided to try to fight. Ironhide threw Buzzsaw against the wall when the yellow and black birdbot tried to attack him! Ratbat's wing was crushed under Red Alert's weight, and Ravage barely got the pink bat out of the way before it was completely destroyed! It was melee, and it was getting more chaotic by the second!

The three sparklings ganged up on Red Alert, and Red Alert started shooting at them one by one! Freezeframe tried to grab the gun from Red Alert's hand, but the red and white emergency vehicle grabbed Freezeframe's arm and crushed it! He ripped the arm away from the light blue cassette and threw it aside; the energon leaking from Freezeframe's injury!

"Don't think I don't know about you 'Cons attacking my daughter a few hours ago!" Red Alert huffed at the sparklings.

Video Error then used his tentacles to grab Red Alert by the throat and said "Yeah? Well considering what you just did to Freezeframe, I'm sorry we let her live! By the way, the letting her live part was my idea, and it was a stupid idea!"

Video Error squeezed tight trying to rip the Autobot's head off, but the Lamborghini clutched onto the appendage for dear life! He finally managed to rip it off, and then grabbed the other tentacle and ripped that one off too! Video Error howled in pain and terror as he was blinded by the attack!

Solarflare was angry now, and she used her flame cannon to try to set Red Alert on fire! Red Alert was fireproof due to his job as a fire rescue vehicle, and Solarflare's visor went wide as she realized just how slagged she was!

Ironhide had subdued Soundwave easily and was cuffing him and the other six cassettes. Sunstreaker came down the hall and saw the red Autobot arresting the Decepticons and stopped to say something.

"So, the rumors are true. Soundwave is here," Sunstreaker said casually, though the enraged look in his optics told a different story.

"No! Please! Not Solarflare! I beg you! I'm _sorry_!"

Sunstreaker turned to the voice, and saw a dark blue and green carrier on the ground pleading with Red Alert and shielding a flame painted minicon. It took Sunstreaker a moment to recognize them as the sparklings Blaster told him about, and he rushed over to them immediately.

"Red, stop!" Sunstreaker hollered as he stood between the sparklings and Red Alert, "Are you nuts? These are sparklings!"

"Huh?" Red Alert asked obliviously, "But...They attacked Phobia. I just assumed…"

"Let me guess, you thought they were adult cassettes," Sunstreaker surmised, "Yeah, I've made that mistake before, too."

"Frag," Red Alert cursed softly as he looked at the damage he'd done to the little younglings, "I...I didn't know. We've got to get them to the medbay!"

Sunstreaker nodded curtly and picked up Solarflare (since she wasn't bleeding and therefore wouldn't ruin his paint). Red Alert gingerly picked up Video Error and Freezeframe. Freezeframe saw who had them and tried to get away, but Red Alert held onto them tightly.

"You Autobot fraggers will pay for this!" Solarflare vowed.

"Language," Video Error reminded her feebly as he tried to stay awake.

Ironhide wanted to follow them, but he had to take the Decepticons back to the brig. The real problem with this situation wasn't repairing the sparklings. It was figuring out what to do with them afterward. They were just sparklings, but they were dangerous and fiercely loyal to Soundwave. They couldn't let them roam free anymore, but could they really arrest 2 and 3 vorn olds? This one was going to require a meeting with Optimus Prime.


	9. Choices

_Author's Notes: The positive response to this fic has just been wonderful! You guys are a great audience, and I'm glad that **GoldenIceNinja** and I have been able to work together to give you guys a fresh take on the previous sparkling story I worked on. Please review, and I hope you enjoy this chapter of Custody Battle :)_

* * *

Chapter 9

Choices

Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe sat around in a cell in the Ark and sulked. Their father was in a different cell, and their siblings were in yet another cell. They couldn't see them, and Buzzsaw wasn't back from surgery, but at least they could feel the spark bond now. It had been so long since they all felt this close. To the sparkling trio the time wasn't that long, but they could tell that to their family it had been an eternity.

Video Error seemed to be the most depressed about their arrest. He hadn't been seen by Ratchet yet, so his tentacles were still separated from his body, and he was still blind. He had lost his freedom, his sight, and his favorite toy all in the same day. All he wanted to do was sit in the corner and hum The Prime's Anthem. Sure, it was an Autobot tune, but he still liked it and it still comforted him.

Solarflare and Freezeframe hated seeing their brother like this, and wanted to do something to make him feel better. They spoke over the comm link to each other and tried to think of a way to make Video Error feel better. They finally came to the conclusion that only one thing could take Video Error's attention away from his own pain: games.

"Hey Video Error," Solarflare approached him, but didn't touch him since it would surprise the blind mechling, "Wanna play a game? I just thought it up."

"What kind of game?" Video Error still sounded depressed, but at least he was willing to listen.

"It's a game called _describe me_ ," Solarflare explained, "Freezeframe and I will describe something, and you have to try to figure out what it is."

"What do I get if I win?" Video Error asked.

"Well…" Solarflare rooted around in her subspace to see what she could find, and she found an energon goodie, "...You get a copper flavored energon goodie. You only get three guesses though, so good luck!"

Video Error smiled and rubbed at his visor. That idiosyncrasy was an old tic his siblings called his game move. They knew he was feeling better already due to their bond.

"Alright, I will go first," Freezeframe declared, "I am a minibot short and stout. Up here are my horns and down here is my spout. Who am I?"

"Hm...Autobot or Decepticon?" Video Error asked.

"Autobot," Freezeframe told him.

"Alright then...Are you Cliffjumper?" Video Error guessed.

"No. Try again," Freezeframe replied.

"Hm...Sunstreaker?" Video Error guessed.

"No. One more try," Freezeframe replied blandly.

Video Error thought and thought, but nothing was coming to him. He didn't know enough of the Autobots to make an educated guess. Finally he sighed and said "Is it First Aid?"

"No. The answer was Bumblebee," Freezeframe allowed himself a small smile of triumph only because he knew Video Error couldn't see it, but Video Error still felt the smugness over the bond.

"My turn!" Solarflare exclaimed, "Okay, I'm huge, grey, and have a unibrow. I'm as mean as they come, yet as grand as Cybertron itself. Who am I?"

"That one's easy!" Video Error exclaimed confidently, "You're Megatron!"

"That's right. Looks like you get the energon goodie," Solarflare said happily as she gave her brother his reward.

Solarflare would normally throw a tantrum if she lost a game, but this time she had purposefully given Video Error an easy description. She wanted him to win so he could feel better about his situation. Video Error's sight was everything to him since it was tied into his sigma ability. Without it, what kind of recorder was he?

With nothing else to do the siblings sat around and made up games. Video Error wanted his vision back, but for the moment he was just grateful that he didn't have to go through this alone.

* * *

Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Prowl, Jazz, Red Alert, and Blaster were all sitting together at the conference table to discuss the sparklings' situation and to try to figure out what to do about them. Optimus listened patiently as each mech spoke their mind, and he could already tell that this was not going to be an easy decision.

"They are obviously a security risk!" Red Alert stated adamantly, "I feel terrible about hurting them, but that does not mean they should be free to roam the Ark! Those things are dangerous!"

"Megatron will likely try to negotiate for their release along with Soundwave and his cassette minions," Prowl pointed out, "Eventually we will need to give them back, so the real question should be what do we want in exchange for them? My suggestion is to request access to the space bridge so that we can take relief supplies to Cybertron for our forces there."

"That isn't necessary," Red Alert replied, "Omega Supreme and Cosmos are doing a fine job taking energon and medical supplies to Cybertron. We have valuable POWs, and I don't think we should release them just yet. Astrotrain has come and gone several times in the past month. We need to know why. Soundwave is privy to sensitive information and could be our best bet to figure out what's going on."

"I'm with Red Alert on this one," Ironhide spoke up, but then added, "That bein' said, I think we should get those little sparklings outta the brig ASAP. They don't belong in there. They ain't criminals. They're just kids. Even if they do pack a punch."

"Yes! Thank you!" Blaster exclaimed in relief, "Prime, I still think I should adopt them. The Decepticons turn sparklings like them into child soldiers. We can save them, just like we did for the sigma sisters."

"That example is not helping your case," Prowl said with an analytical tone, "Phobia is well adjusted, but one out of three hardly seems like good odds. Besides, the sigmas were orphans. These three sparklings have a creator. Soundwave may or may not care about them, but who are we to judge that? The Decepticons have a different culture and history than we do. Their morals and priorities are different. The sparklings, whether we like it or not, are Decepticons. They will likely go along with whatever Soundwave tells them is right and wrong. I still say we should send them back."

"Back to _Megatron_?" Blaster asked caustically, "You think the Slag Maker is the best option for those little sparklings? Well I for one don't intend to take this lyin' down! They belong with a lovin' family that will treat them the way they deserve and raise them to value life and justice. They belong with us. With me."

"Blaster," Optimus Prime finally spoke, "I can see that this means a great deal to you. I understand. The belief that any being is capable of positive change is the cornerstone of the Autobot way. You are right to want what is best for the sparklings. However, have you even asked them what they want?"

Blaster looked down at the table in shame. In all of these discussions about the futures of these little angels no one had even considered what the sparklings themselves might want. He vented air, and then looked up into the warm blue optics of the Prime.

"You're right, Prime," Blaster finally said, "I'll go down there now and ask them."

"Good," Optimus nodded approvingly, "I would suggest you take Ratchet with you. Video Error still needs repair, and Freezeframe will need to tell Ratchet if the new arm is still working properly."

"Can do, Prime," Blaster replied.

"Very well. Autobots, you are dismissed," Optimus said as he stood from his seat at the head of the table.

The Autobots all turned to go, but Optimus held Jazz back to speak with him privately. Jazz hadn't said anything during the meeting, and Optimus was curious as to his thoughts on the matter, and told him as much.

"Well, Boss Bot," Jazz said hesitantly, "I think Blaster's spark is in the right place, but I don't think he understands what he's doin'. I've spent some time with Freezeframe, and while he's as adaptable as any sparkling, he's told me that he misses his dad. The kids want to go back to Soundwave. As strange as it sounds, I think that 'Con is actually a good father to them. That's just my opinion though. I could be wrong."

Optimus nodded and rubbed his helm. This was a difficult situation for everyone involved. It seemed like things were never easy when it came to sparklings.

* * *

Blaster and Ratchet went into the brig to check on the patients. Ratchet had Buzzsaw restrained on a rolling table to take him back to his cell. The bird was sedated at the moment, but they could never be too careful. While Laserbeak usually gave them more trouble, Buzzsaw was a very powerful cassette and could kill any one of them if they turned their back on him.

Ratchet went to secure the Cassetticon while Blaster went over to cell #4, where the three sparklings were being held. He looked in on them and saw that the smaller cassettes were on either side of Video Error and trying to make him feel better. It brought a smile to the red carrier's face plate.

"Hey, little dudes," Blaster greeted them warmly, "O.P. says you can come out now. We're gonna go back to my quarters for the night. Don't you worry, everythin's gonna be alright."

The two seeing sparklings jerked their helms up and glared angrily at him, and that actually caused the Autobot to shrink back in surprise. Video Error couldn't look at him, but he still scowled in Blaster's general direction.

"Go away, Autobot!" Solarflare snapped fiercely, "We're not going anywhere!"

"Yeah, we like it in here!" Video Error concurred, "We wanna stay down here with our Dad, and you can't make us leave!"

"Technically he could," Freezeframe pointed out pessimistically, "As POWs we have no rights. If he wanted to paint us pink and hang us upside down by our ankles he's technically allowed to do that."

"Thanks a lot, you slagger," Solarflare muttered at her insensitive little brother, then she turned to Blaster and said "Just go away! We hate you!"

Blaster was crushed by their words. He knew they would be upset, but he also thought they had connected since he woke them up. Apparently they didn't care about him at all. He still cared about them though, and wanted to do something to help them.

"Listen kids, Ratchet will be in here in a few minutes," Blaster told them, "He's gonna examine Video Error's tentacle ports. He couldn't save the old ones, but he's gonna try to build you new ones. It might take a few days. If you wanna recover outside the brig, just tell the guard on duty. My door is always open to you. Anythin' you need, just tell the guard. We'll see to it that you're taken care of. Okay?"

The sparklings didn't answer him. They wouldn't even look at him, and it broke his spark. He was used to dealing with difficult personalities. Eject and Rewind always fought with each other, Ramhorn was always getting into trouble, and Screwball was clinically insane. He was used to those problems. What he wasn't used to was being the target of hatred by someone he worked so hard to protect. With a heavy spark he left the brig, and he wasn't sure what he could do for them anymore.


	10. Energy

_Author's Notes: Thank you all for continuing to read this sequel fic! I appreciate all the views and reviews, you've all been so encouraging :)_

* * *

Chapter 10

Energy

The sparklings sat in their cell and stewed for what felt like forever. Time ticked away slowly, and they wondered what the Autobots would do to them. At first they had just been angry that they and their family were being detained by the red-face-wearing jerks, but soon that anger turned to fear as they realized that the Autobots could still decide to kill them and be done with it.

Solarflare paced around the room like an animal in a zoo, and Video Error just sat in the corner and hugged his knees. Without his vision he didn't really have a reason to get up. Freezeframe used his comm system to talk to his other siblings, and Ravage seemed to be the one most willing to talk at the moment.

/You've been captured before,/ Freezeframe said to Ravage, /What do Autobots usually do with their captives?/

/Well, they really like to taunt their prisoners,/ Ravage replied with a shudder, /Hound is the worst about it. He likes to make projections of other Decepticons to mess with your head. Hopefully we don't get him as a guard anytime soon./

Their conversation was interrupted by the changing of the guard. Gears left his post, and to their dismay they saw that Red Alert was the one taking his place. The three sparklings scooted further into the back of the cell. After that white and red maniac ripped away some of their limbs and tried to do worse they weren't about to trust him. Red Alert seemed to notice their discomfort, because he got up from his desk and walked over to their cell.

Red Alert's expression was unreadable to the sparklings as he stopped in front of their cell and looked at them. Solarflare and Freezeframe protectively huddled around Video Error. Freezeframe was nervous but resigned to his fate. Solarflare looked up at the Autobot challengingly to hide her own fear of the security chief.

"Kids, I want to talk to you," Red Alert said softly, "I know you're angry and hurt right now. You have every right to be. I still don't trust you, and I still think you belong in there for the way you treated my little sparklet, but I shouldn't have attacked you the way I did. I didn't know you were sparklings, and I never would have been so vicious if I had known the truth. I'm sorry. I hope you can forgive me."

The sparklings didn't quite know how to process that. Why was he apologizing? They were his enemies. Killing your enemies was what you were supposed to do! Any good Decepticon would execute their enemies regardless of their age or experience. Still, this apology did mean one good thing for them…

"So...You're not going to kill us?" Video Error asked timidly.

"No, we're not going to kill you," Red Alert replied, "I don't know what will happen to you, but I want you to know that so long as your father cooperates with us I will put in a good word for all of you to be released."

"He won't cooperate, you slagger!" Solarflare scoffed, "Dad would never rat out our leader, not even for us! Unlike you Autobozos, we care about loyalty! What do you say to _that_ , you frag head?"

"I say you need to clean up that scrapyard mouth," Red Alert scolded Solarflare; causing her brothers to snicker at her.

Red Alert then left them and went back to his post at the desk near the door. They still didn't like their situation, but at least they felt a little less fearful. Well, they _did_ , until Freezeframe mentioned one little thing…

"I just realized something," Freezeframe said thoughtfully, "That guy is the security chief, and his daughter is an energon leech. If she ate us he could just destroy the tapes and hide our bodies."

The sparklings all thought about that for a few seconds, and then Solarflare finally said "Thanks a lot, Brainfreeze!"

* * *

Blaster was at his station monitoring transmissions on Teletran 1, but his processor was far away from his task as he thought about the sparklings. They would be safer and happier being raised by Autobots. He knew they would. Soundwave was a monster, and he didn't deserve those sparklings. How could he convince the sparklings as well as Optimus Prime that he would be a better guardian for them than that Decepticon spy?

His thoughts were interrupted when a bright pink light filled his personal monitor, and a loud crackling noise busted him from his reverie.

"Yo, Ham Radio!" A deep feminine voice with a Queens accent shouted from the screen, "It's 17:00 hours! Time to party!"

"Q-Boom!" Blaster shouted happily, "When did you get here?"

"I've been on earth for a few cycles now," Q-Boom explained; the pink light flowing like a lava lamp on the screen, "So, where's Pop? I can't reach him. I can't believe he's too far away from technology for me to find him!"

"He's on a nature retreat with Hound and Beachcomber," Blaster explained, "Say, did you know Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are here this week, too?"

"No way! How are ol' Strawberry and Banana?" Q-Boom asked happily, "It's been too long! Oh, I got some info from Cybertron."

"Yeah? Lay it on me," Blaster ordered excitedly.

"You ain't gonna like it…" Q-Boom warned him, "Apparently Trigger-Butt has sent the Constructicons to help Cyclops build a new super soldier. A city-former."

" _City-former_?" Blaster asked incredulously, "They can't build a Titan! The secrets of their function have been lost to history."

"History schmistory!" Q-Boom dismissed his objections, "They did it. I saw it myself. This thing looks so fraggin' cool! They used Dinobot technology and it's as big as Metroplex! They call it Trypticon, and this thing is awesome!"

"Awesome? Q-Boom, that thing could kill us all!" Blaster admonished her.

"Yeah, but it's still awesome," Q-Boom muttered like a child that was told they had to come inside and wash their hands, "Speakin' of awesome Dinobots, how are my Dino-Brothers doin'? They still kickin' Decepticon tailpipe?"

"Yeah, Swoop finally got his medic's certificate," Blaster informed her, "He's on the nature retreat with the others. Grimlock and Sludge are trainin', and Snarl is takin' a nap. We've got Slag on guard duty in the brig."

"The brig?" Q-Boom asked curiously, "Who'd you catch? Please tell me it's those fraggin' cassette twins Rumble and Frenzy! I love it when Phobia shows up and they squirm like little slug babies!"

"Yeah, they're down there, among others…" Blaster's voice was low, and he sounded depressed about something.

"Uh-oh, what happened?" Q-Boom asked knowingly, "Is it Soundwave? Did you two get into another scrape?"

"We found his sparklings," Blaster cut directly to the point, "He has three sparklings, and I want to adopt them...Get them away from that life with the Decepticons. They deserve better. No one else seems to be on my side on this. Soundwave is just gonna raise them to kill indiscriminately like every other Decepticon. They're gonna be turned into child soldiers just because of their sigma abilities. They deserve more than that. What can I do?"

"Hey, Blaster Disaster. You really want my advice?" Q-Boom asked rhetorically, "Don't worry so much. You're overthinkin' it. Take it from a former Decepticon sparkling, you can't change nothin'. Their minds are already made up. If they wanna be Autobots and have a new life with you, then they'll find a way. If they wanna stay with Soundwave and turn you into scrap, then the only thing you can do is defend yourself from their blows. That bein' said, don't hate them just because of where they come from. It'll only reinforce what they've already been told about you."

"Hey, Q?" Blaster interjected, "How did you feel...I mean, when you first came here? Were you scared, or angry, or anything?"

"I knew I could die," Q-Boom admitted, "It didn't bother me all that much though. The foundlin' home wasn't exactly a place one expected to escape alive. The first thing I saw when I woke up on your ship was Pop. He was big, and he had on a welder's mask that made him look creepy. He said his name was Wheeljack, and I knew that name. The Decepticons told terrifyin' stories of his madness. You wanna know somethin' though? I wasn't scared. I was fascinated by him. He knew I could explode, but he didn't care. He worked hard to make sure I was okay, and that impressed me. I knew when I saw him that I was gonna be okay. I knew it didn't matter if the rest of the Autobots wanted me dead or not. I knew Pop was gonna protect me. I've never doubted that."

"I wish the sparklings we have here felt the same way about me," Blaster admitted sadly.

"Not every sparkling is the same," Q-Boom pointed out, "Terrabyte asked a murderer to adopt her out of spite. Honey Venom hated the Autobots but loved her guardian. Phobia took to Autobot life like a retro rat to garbage. Maybe you can't be their father, but you can still be their friend. Listen, I've gotta go. There's an energy current headed for San Fransisco with my name on it!"

With that the pink light flashed brightly on the screen one last time and flickered out in a small burst of sparks. Blaster never would get used to the way Q-Boom cut off transmissions. On some level, he felt he'd never get used to Q-Boom at all. Still, he had a lot to think about now. Could he be friends with the sparklings if they continued to hold onto their evil Decepticon ways? It was a puzzle.

* * *

The sparklings watched as Red Alert left and another Autobot took charge of guard duty. This Autobot was huge, red and yellow, and had a face with long horns on his chest!

"Clearly he is a beast-former," Freezeframe pointed out.

"How scary is he?" Video Error asked.

" _Scary_ ," Solarflare replied ominously, "He looks like a giant Predacon. My guess is he's one of their Dinobots."

"Dinobots?" Video Error squeaked, "Those guys can topple Devastator! What if he wants to beat us up? The Dinobots are dumb ugly savages! We'll be crushed!"

"Shh!" Freezeframe held his digit to Video Error's mouth plates, "He'll hear you."

Video Error stopped talking, but he didn't stop thinking. He started to form an idea in his processor...

"Hm...Maybe that's what we want," Video Error suggested, and they both looked at him like he'd lost his mind, "Just hear me out! The Dinobots pride themselves on being strong, right? Well, we just have to use that to our advantage."

The sparklings all smiled at each other and started talking over the comm system. If their plan worked then they would be able to escape with their family and return to the Nemesis 2! They spoke to their other siblings over the comm signal and set their plan in motion.

"Hey, Dinobot! Yes you! Dinobot! I need something!" Video Error hollered in as annoying a voice as he could manage.

" _Grr_! You prisoners shut up!" Slag growled at the blue and green sparkling.

"Please? I made a bet with Freezeframe and I need you to settle it for me!" Video Error insisted.

"Make bet? What bet?" Slag asked; intrigued.

"I bet Freezeframe that you were the strongest of all the Dinobots, but he thinks you're a weakling," Video Error explained.

" _What_?!" Slag snapped; enraged, "Me Slag am not weakling! Me Slag destroy lousy Decepticon!"

"No, wait! You can prove you're the strongest!" Video Error said quickly; hoping he wasn't digging his own grave, "The strongest Dinobot could push himself against the energy bars for fifteen seconds without getting hurt. Think you can do that?"

"Of course me Slag can do that!" Slag declared proudly, "Me Slag can do anything!"

Solarflare snickered during the entire conversation. Slag was a Cybertronian curse word that people scolded her for saying, and yet it was this mech's _actual_ name! She wondered if she would be allowed to name one of her future sparklings Frag Head. She chuckled even more when she thought about it.

Slag, the gullible brute that he was, pushed himself against the energy bars and started convulsing as the painful hot currents shot through his body! He still didn't leave the cruel embrace of the energy bars, however. He was determined to prove he was strong. He stayed there for so long that the energy bars overcharged and went out; freeing the sparklings from their prison!

"Now, guys!" Video Error shouted.

Rumble and Frenzy then started pounding on the ground with their pile drivers; causing the already unstable Slag to fall over with a powerful thud! He was barely conscious, and Freezeframe decided to end this game by freezing Slag with liquid nitrogen.

"The ice age strikes again," Solarflare snarled wittily.

"That was a pretty cool line," Video Error complimented her, "Listen, everyone can transform and fit into my alt mode, but I can't fly blind. What do we do?"

"I'll drive you," Freezeframe offered, "Don't worry. We've made it this far. We'll get out of this. Trust me."

Video Error nodded and waited while Solarflare and Freezeframe opened all the cell doors and a herd of cassettes came rushing out to freedom! Soundwave was still damaged and wavering in and out on consciousness, but he managed to open his tape deck for his creations to enter, and then transformed into his smaller cassette player mode. Freezeframe grabbed the cassette player and waited for Video Error to transform into his jet mode.

Once everyone was settled in and Video Error was prepared for take-off, the light blue cassette sparkling took to the controls and started piloting his older brother. They couldn't afford to be seen yet, so he flew Video Error into the ventilation system. It was a tight squeeze for a blind jet and an inexperienced pilot, but they made it, and soon they found daylight and burst forth from the Ark!

They were free! Soundwave and his children were all free! They would return to the Nemesis 2 and prepare to strike back at the Autobots that held them!

"Hey guys," Video Error whined over his speaker system, "I'm hungry. If I don't refuel soon I'm gonna have to land."

"Oh," Freezeframe replied in understanding, "Dad, are you awake?"

"Affirmative," Soundwave's distorted voice replied; his alt mode allowing him to rest in his son's lap.

"Pull up the closest source of energon so we can all refuel," Freezeframe requested.

Soundwave plugged himself into Video Error's sensor array and showed a power plant 20 miles north of their current location. A few minutes later they were there, and loading energon cubes as human workers ran for their lives.

The family of 10 enjoyed their meal and felt like they were finally safe. They failed however to notice Chip Chase, one of the Autobots' human friends, working in the control room. They also didn't see the black and blue-grey sparkling with that human watching the whole thing.

"Decepticons!" Chip exclaimed fearfully, "What should we do?"

"Don't worry Chip, I'll call my Daddy," Phobia reassured him, "They'll send someone to rescue us right away."


	11. Battle Royale

_Author's Notes: I'm starting to like this story more the further I get into it. **GoldenIceNinja** and I had so many ideas for this chapter, but unfortunately we couldn't fit them all in a single chapter. Hopefully we'll be able to add them next chapter. Please stay tuned and please review! You're a great audience :)_

* * *

Chapter 11

Battle Royale

Optimus Prime received the message from Phobia on Teletran 1. She sounded scared and their friend Chip was also in a muted state of suppressed panic. They would have to get there quickly to subdue the Decepticons and protect the rest of the human population. He was loathe to fight sparklings, and would do anything he could to prevent it, but he had seen from the security footage that they could be dangerous when they wanted to be.

At first the only officer he wanted to come with him on this mission was Ironhide, but then Blaster insisted on coming to ensure the sparklings would be safe. Prime acquiesced, but that wasn't the end of it. Slag also insisted on coming because the sparklings had gotten him in trouble with Grimlock after that stunt in the brig, and he wanted revenge on them. Prime didn't want to bring Slag along, but controlling the Dinobots was nearly impossible. Red Alert insisted on going at the last minute because he was worried about his daughter, so Inferno had to take Red's shift at the security monitors.

The five Autobots drove quickly to get to the power plant. It was an hour's drive, and they weren't even sure they would make it in time to stop the Decepticons. The 'Con's chief of communications was too valuable a prisoner to lose; especially with the new information about a Decepticon city-former in the works. They might have to move Metroplex to earth to keep the Decepticons from sucking the earth dry of its energy.

* * *

The 10 Decepticons enjoyed their energon at a leisurely pace and talked among themselves as Rumble and Frenzy struggled with field repairs on their boss and father, Soundwave. Soundwave's frame still looked damaged, but a lot of the internal problems were already fixed and he would soon be in good enough shape to fly and fight.

It had been a little over an hour since the Decepticons took over the power plant, and Phobia and Chip were still hiding in the small control room above the main generator room. Phobia was still frightened, but decided that she should be the one to sneak a peek to make sure everything was still okay.

Phobia saw one of the workers that had been knocked out begin to stir. She was happy because she really liked the humans and wanted them to be alright. The worker crouched low behind a turbine and poked his head over it to look at the Decepticons. He took a small gun out of his back pocket, and began to fire on the nearest mech; Video Error! Phobia watched in terror as Video Error slowly turned around and walked toward the human in a barely contained murderous rage.

"So, a fleshy shot at me?" Video Error asked rhetorically; having just received the news from Freezeframe via comm link, "Well, let's see how the fleshy likes it when _I_ shoot at _him_!"

Video Error then pulled a small training pistol out of subspace. It wasn't enough to kill anything, but he knew if he could hit the human it would cause him a lot of pain. Video Error listened to see if he could pinpoint the human's heartbeat since he couldn't see the hideous creature. He found it, and he aimed…

" _No_!" Phobia squealed as she jumped down and tackled Video Error to the ground.

"What the-? Who's there?" Video Error asked even as he continued to struggle against the unseen attacker.

"It's the leech!" Solarflare shrieked, "I'll save you, Video Error!"

That was when pure chaos ensued. At that moment the Autobots burst through the wall, the humans fled, Soundwave charged his weapons to attack Blaster, and Video Error struggled free of Phobia's grasp and ran outside with Phobia chasing him down!

"Cassetticons: attack," Soundwave ordered as he pointed to the Prime.

Every cassette, from the oldest to the sparklings, dog piled on Optimus Prime and began beating on him! It was 8 against 1, and no matter how much bigger Optimus was than the cassettes it was still a lot to tackle by himself. Rumble and Frenzy used their pile drivers on his shoulders, Ravage bit his left leg, Buzzsaw and Laserbeak took turns pecking his helm, Ratbat latched onto his back, Freezeframe froze his pedes so he couldn't escape, and Solarflare used her fire cannon on his chassis! Before long Prime was on the verge of losing consciousness, and if Ironhide hadn't been there he could've offlined!

Ironhide grabbed the pile driver twins first and slammed them into the wall, then he used his liquid nitrogen gun to freeze Ratbat and Ravage! Buzzsaw and Laserbeak started firing their lasers on Ironhide, and he took out a pistol and started firing back! The sparklings saw their siblings in trouble, so they forgot all about Prime to attack the red van-former.

Meanwhile, Soundwave and Blaster had each other in an arm lock. They looked each other in the optics and bared their denta at each other. Neither one wanted to make the first move for fear of what their opponent would do then.

Blaster started to overpower Soundwave since the Decepticon was still recovering. If he wanted to get out of Blaster's grip he would have to think fast. He then saw his ticket to victory...one of the humans was trapped in the upper deck of the building! He kicked Blaster in the crotch plate and darted for the small cowering creature in the little box-like control room! The human screamed, and the Autobots stopped. _So_ predictable…

"Autobots, stand down," Soundwave commanded as he held out his prize for the enemy to see, "The human is now my prisoner."

"Chip, no!" Ironhide shouted with a mixture of anger and worry.

What Soundwave didn't see, however, was Slag in his robot mode right behind him. The Dinobot wasn't very subtle, but he was so fast he didn't need to be. He quickly rammed into Soundwave's back, and Blaster caught Chip before Soundwave toppled over! The cassettes surrounded Soundwave to protect him from the Autobots, and their face plates all showed firm resolve as they formed a semicircle around their father.

"Let us leave with Soundwave, or we'll blast you all to the pit!" Rumble barked threateningly.

"Yeah, and let us take the energon, too!" Solarflare added.

Soundwave sat up from where he had fallen, and he looked down at his creations. He was so humbled by how far they were going to protect him, but there was something wrong with this picture...

"Video Error: return," Soundwave ordered, but nothing happened.

Then everyone, Autobot and Decepticon alike started looking around, but they couldn't see Video Error anywhere.

"Chip, where is Phobia?" Red Alert suddenly asked amid the silence.

"I don't know," Chip admitted guiltily, "We hid together for an hour, but then she saw a person about to be killed and she jumped down to save him. I lost track of her after that."

This was not good. Two sparklings were missing, and they could be killing each other even as the Autobots and Decepticons wasted time!

* * *

Video Error didn't know where he was running. He felt dirt under his pedes, so he knew he was outside. He heard rapid footsteps and rustling foliage, so he knew his pursuer was after him. He was going to get eaten by the Autobots' pet leech, and he couldn't even see to defend himself!

Video Error kept running until he tripped on a large tree root, and then he fell flat on his face before he could register what had happened. He tried to get up, but a swift kick to his side sent him reeling into the underbrush!

"Got'cha!" Phobia exclaimed as she ran toward Video Error.

Video Error waited until he heard her come close, and then swiped at her with his fist. He hit nothing but the air, and then he felt the leech's suckers latch onto his arms! This was it! He could feel the drawing sensation of his life fluid being sucked out by that monster!

"No! No stop, please!" Video Error cried out at first, but then said, "Oh, fine! Whatever! Just kill me! I'd rather die than go back to the Autobots anyway! Just be quick with me. I'm fragile."

Then a miracle happened. The leech let him go! Video Error sat up and listened. There was no sound of her retreating, so he knew she was still there. Why she wasn't attacking him though, he couldn't answer that one.

"I thought _you_ wanted to kill _us_ ," Phobia finally said apologetically, "I was just defending myself and my family. I didn't really wanna hurt you. I'm sorry…"

Her voice sounded so contrite and soft. Video Error was surprised a vicious energon sucking monster could sound so...sweet. He didn't know what to think of the situation, so at first he said nothing. It was Phobia who broke the silence next.

"Did you lose a Megatron toy?" Phobia asked him out of the blue.

"Yes. Did you find it?" Video Error asked pitifully; his fear giving way to a slight tremor in his voice.

"Yeah, I found it," Phobia replied as she sat down next to Video Error, "I'm sorry, but it got broke. I don't know who broke it, but I couldn't fix it. I couldn't tell Daddy to fix it because it's a Megatron toy. He hates Megatron. I do, too. Probably not as much as Daddy though. I can give you back the pieces. It broke in half."

"I want it back," Video Error muttered as he bit his lip components to keep from crying in front of an Autobot, "Dad gave it to me. It's the only thing I have left from when we lived in Polyhex."

"I knew a femmeling from Polyhex once," Phobia said quietly; looking sober for a moment, "When did you live there?"

"It was a long time ago," Video Error replied, "I was only a vorn old then, and my Dad had just produced two newsparks. They weren't even ready for protoforms yet, so he kept them in his chassis in a protective case."

"Yeah, humans have a word for that," Phobia told him, "They call it pregnant."

"We lived in a large campground," Video Error continued his story, "My Dad was there to supervise the training of Megatron's most elite troops. Sparklings usually weren't allowed in camps like that, but they let me in because I'm special. Dad says that I was hand selected by Megatron to be a powerful new soldier for the Decepticon cause. When I'm old enough, I'll be even more powerful than Astrotrain or Blitzwing. They're the coolest triple changers ever!"

"Astrotrain is a jerk!" Phobia replied hotly, "He hurt my friends! He hurt Screwball and Shriek and even Terrabyte! Screwball almost died because of that overgrown train wreck!"

"I've met Screwball," Video Error commented, "I know he's stupid, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to hurt him. He's too damaged to hurt anybody. Besides, he's one of Blaster's cassettes. I'd think upsetting Blaster would be signing your own death certificate."

"Blaster's a nice guy," Phobia replied with a shrug, "He helps me program music boxes, and we're working on a collage of photos from the past 5 years. Uncle Inferno is gonna help me. Why are you so afraid of Blaster?"

"I'm not afraid!" Video Error shouted as his voice went up a pitch, and Phobia tapped his arm teasingly, "Okay, I'm afraid," Video Error admitted.

"Why?" Phobia prodded.

"Because...Because he took everything from me," Video Error replied like his hands shaking, "I told you I lived in a camp in Polyhex. Well, the camp was destroyed by the Autobots. Most of them were just grunts, no big deal, but they were led by Blaster. He went straight for the barracks I shared with Dad and my siblings. He set the whole thing on fire! He even yelled at Dad that he deserved it. Something about a boom and a radio station. I don't remember. All I remember is hiding behind Dad's leg until we started running together. Dad didn't even have time to slow down and take my hand. We had to keep up with each other or lose each other forever. Blaster almost killed us that day. The only thing I had in my chest compartment at the time was my Megatron. All the rest of our stuff was lost in the fire."

"Oh," Phobia replied sympathetically, and then took Video Error's hand and placed the two halves of the doll inside, "I understand how you feel, sort of. I had a friend that lost her creators in an Autobot attack, and then she was adopted by the Autobot that killed them. She was terrified of him for months after she moved in with him. We all thought she was crazy for staying."

"Did he kill her?" Video Error asked suspensefully.

"No. He liked her," Phobia replied, "They actually bonded their sparks as father and daughter. Video Error, the grown ups are fighting a war that makes them do very bad things, but they don't want to. They want to stop, but they can't until they can figure out who's in charge. Decepticons want Megatron, and Autobots want Optimus. If it were up to me we'd just cut the planet in half and each move on one side, but nobody asked me."

For a minute or two Video Error didn't say anything to Phobia. He wasn't exactly comfortable being that close to an energon leech, but something about her made him trust her. She just seemed so open and innocent. He wondered if it was possible to be friends with an Autobot. Well, as long as it wasn't Blaster or Ironhide, maybe.

"You mentioned arranging photos," Video Error finally spoke up, "Do you like art?"

"Yes," Phobia replied, "Do you?"

"Yeah," Video Error replied awkwardly, "I like to carve metal into toys. Of course, I used to have a big collection of metal dolls, but they're all gone now. I lost them in Polyhex. I haven't had time to make any more."

"If you come back to the Ark with me, I can get you some metal," Phobia suggested.

"No! I don't wanna go back!" Video Error shouted in panic, "Please, don't take me prisoner! I won't bother anyone ever again, I promise!"

"I didn't mean like _that_!" Phobia squealed defensively, "I mean I'll hide you! You can hide in my room on the Ark until we figure out how to make you all better. When you can see again you can make dolls and fly and do anything you want! Come on. My arm is to the right of you. Grab hold of me, and I'll lead you back to my place."

"Are you sure you don't wanna eat me?" Video Error needled.

"I already did," Phobia pointed out, "And I don't think you have a lot of energon left to spare anyway. Just keep hold of my arm. I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm your friend, okay?"

"Well...okay," Video Error finally conceded, and he began to walk with her back to the Ark.

The little triple changer was still scared, but he felt a little more hopeful. Phobia was a leech, but she also seemed to understand a lot of what he was going through. Maybe they wouldn't have to be enemies when they grew up. He hoped he could convince her to join the Decepticons. They would appreciate her way more than those soft-sparked Autobots.


	12. Refugee

_Author's Notes: I'm pretty happy with how this chapter turned out. You guys might want to stick around though, this story is going to go in some crazy directions! **GoldenIceNinja** had the idea of incorporating a certain element from TFA (not going to say what yet). I believe we'll be able to achieve the proper amount of fanservice while being original enough to be interesting. Not yet though. That's the next chapter :)_

* * *

Chapter 12

Refugee

With the sparklings missing Soundwave and his cassettes managed to get away from the chaos of battle. The Autobots were so busy looking for their own little parasite that they never even noticed the Decepticons getting away.

Soundwave and his brood didn't go far, however. He knew Video Error was in a weakened state and needed his family. He was worried about his 7th born son, and he knew time was short. He was grateful to at least have his two youngest sparklings back, but he also knew Video Error was the one the Autobots really wanted. He might not have seemed as powerful as Solarflare and Freezeframe, but Soundwave knew that Video Error was designed to be a deadly Autobot killer.

When he and his minions landed he ordered them all to split up and search for Video Error. He just hoped Video Error didn't fly away. That would make his task more difficult. He could feel his son's spark, so he knew Video Error was still alive. He just had to find him.

Ravage, Solarflare, and Freezeframe went one way, Rumble and Frenzy went another way, and Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, and Ratbat took to the air to search farther away.

Soundwave went in the direction of the Ark. If the Autobots found Video Error first, then that's where he would be taken. No way would he let those functionalist fraggers have his son. Soundwave clenched his fist; the only sign of emotion from him since his face remained stoic. He would not lose his family again.

* * *

"Hurry up!" Phobia urged as she pulled Video Error's arm along behind her.

"Slow down!" Video Error griped, "I can't see where I'm going!"

"Sorry," Phobia apologized, but didn't slow down.

The pair were past the forest and to the edge of Autobot territory. Phobia could see the Ark now; a big orange ship jammed into the edge of a volcano and left there for millions of years. To Phobia it was home. To Video Error it was prison.

"Stop!" Phobia suddenly commanded, "We can't go straight. We have to walk to the edge of the Ark and then climb through the air vent."

"Why?" Video Error asked.

"I know where every single camera is on this ship," Phobia explained, "My Daddy installed every one. I can get us inside undetected, but it's gonna be rough. Please be careful where you walk or crawl. I'll guide you, but you need to do exactly as I say. Understand?"

"I guess, but I'm not happy about it," Video Error groused, "How am I going to get repaired?"

"I don't know yet," Phobia admitted, "But you can't live outside. On earth it rains water and animals pee on you. True story, one time Q-Boom trained a dog to pee on Ironhide after he refused to change the channel to her favorite cartoon. He chased that dog around for 5 whole minutes, but then Terrabyte picked it up and brought it into her quarters. Sunstreaker didn't let her keep it."

"How long is 5 minutes?" Video Error asked.

"A breem," Phobia supplied, "Now, crawl into this shaft. I'll lift you inside, and then direct you from behind."

"You direct my behind and it'll be _your_ behind!" Video Error quipped irritably.

"Oh, brother!" Phobia rolled her optics, "Just listen for my instructions!"

Video Error let out a long-suffering vent before he did as he was told. This femmeling was almost as demanding as Solarflare!

Video Error could hear the loud clanking of their movements as he and Phobia navigated the winding passage of air vents. At one point he almost went the wrong way and nearly crawled into a big sharp fan! Fortunately Phobia pulled him away in time. It took nearly 20 minutes for them to find Phobia's room, and then Video Error had to jump to the floor! He landed with a hard thud and for a few seconds actually saw a fuzzy image of the room with his broken visor before his world went black again.

"Ow...That hurt," Video Error squeaked, "By the way, I saw a large berth. Was that yours?"

"You could see?" Phobia asked hopefully.

"Only for a second," Video Error replied weakly, "I also saw a cat poster hanging over the big berth with earth letters on it. What did it say?"

"Oh, that's a motivational poster I got for Daddy," Phobia said happily, "It says 'Hang In There, Baby!' It's funny because the cat is hanging onto a tree, and firefighters have to save cats from trees, and my Daddy is a firefighter when he's in his alt mode. He's an emergency car. I like it when he drives with the siren on. My car mode isn't as cool as his. Mine is a funeral car for dead humans."

" _Ew_!" Video Error gagged, "You don't actually let the dead humans inside you, do you?"

"I only did once," Phobia confessed, "I accidentally parked next to a funeral home to take a nap after shopping, and before you know it I had a coffin in the trunk, a family in the back seat, and a man driving me. I remember the dead lady's name was Mrs. Monahan, and her family was so nice! They got along so well. I wished I could've said something to them, but then I would've blown my cover and wouldn't get to see the pretty flowers."

"You sure do like to talk, don't you?" Video Error asked critically.

"Yes," Phobia replied shamelessly, "Listen, if my Daddy gets home he can't find you here. I'm gonna hide you in my room in the closet. If you hear him, then don't say anything. I'm gonna go out to the rec room and get us some energon. They have a special dispenser for us sparklings. I'll be back soon. Stay safe."

Phobia waved goodbye to Video Error, but then realized he couldn't see her wave. She giggled and said "Um, Phobia waves goodbye!"

"Video Error extends middle finger!" Video Error called back, and Phobia laughed at his crude humor.

She wondered how Video Error had learned about that earth custom. She decided she would ask him when she got back.

When she left Video Error slowly made his way to the closet. He bumped into the wall once, but quickly righted himself. He didn't want Phobia to see how weak he was, but being a triple changer made him expend his energy very fast, not to mention she drank most of it during their fight. He made it to the closet and felt around for the berth, but he passed out before he even made it there.

* * *

Q-Boom had visited her Pop and her brothers when she came to the Ark. Wheeljack still felt the pain in his spark when she was too close to him. Her exposed spark caused her a lot of pain, and her pain was his pain due to their spark bond. He was still building her a new body, but it wouldn't be ready for months. The Decepticons kept everyone busy, and Wheeljack had to focus on building weapons. Q-Boom could be patient for this though. She knew her Pop would do everything he could.

After having a nice visit with her family, Q-Boom decided she needed to visit Phobia before she left to go back into outer space. She floated through the halls and said hello whenever she ran into someone. Most of the Autobots gave her strange looks. They still weren't used to her disembodied spark even four years later.

She went into Red Alert's room to look for Phobia, but she didn't find Phobia or the red and white security chief. Deciding to check the closet, Q-Boom floated through the door and into the small dark room.

"Yo, Phobia!" Q-Boom shouted into the room, "You in here?"

Video Error, who had been in stasis lock, managed to hear the spark's voice and got up. He couldn't see who it was, and he remembered he was in Autobot HQ, so he was already close to being in panic mode.

"I don't want any trouble! Blaster said I could be here!" Video Error lied, "Who's there? Hello?"

"What the?" Q-Boom asked dumbly, "Dude, what happened to your visor? It has more cracks in it than Grimlock's TV screen!"

"I was attacked," Video Error said shortly, "Who are you? What do you want?" He sounded angrier now since they knew he couldn't see them yet were still messing with him.

"The name's Q-Boom," Q-Boom introduced herself, "You a friend of Phobia's?"

"Yes," Video Error replied; surprised by how easily he said that, "Which Autobot are you?"

"I don't know," Q-Boom voiced a shrug, "I guess I'm the one that keeps Cosmos company when I pass by. He's the only one that lives in outer space most of the time, and I gotta tell you! He had so many fun stories to tell! Oh mech, if I still had a body I'd totally date him. I mean, I've had problems with intimacy in the past, but Cosmos is different. He can make you feel like the most important person in the universe."

"Wait, did you say you don't have a body?" Video Error asked nervously.

"Yeah," Q-Boom replied; still lost in thought, "Did you know there's a society on one of Saturn's moons that used to think Cybertronians were divine beings? That is, until they actually met some! Ha!"

"Wait, how can you _not_ have a body?" Video Error asked frantically.

"Oh, I'm just a spark," Q-Boom replied nonchalantly, "My spark can survive without a body. It's what scientists commonly refer to as a spark ghost."

"You're a _ghost_?!" Video Error shrieked, "No! Please! Get away from me! Please don't take my body! You wouldn't like it! I'm still using it! It's blind! _I'm_ blind!"

"Video Error?" Phobia shouted from the other side of the door, "Are you okay?"

Phobia then opened the door with her foot since she was carrying two large cubes of energon stacked on top of each other. She saw that Q-Boom was floating around while Video Error held onto the edge of the berth and cried; still trying to not pass out.

"Q-Boom!" Phobia exclaimed happily, "Nobody told me you were coming for a visit! I am so glad to see you! I see you met my new friend Video Error."

"Yeah, I see you replaced me with a blind sparkling," Q-Boom joked, "Maybe I'll just have to haunt this little imposter..."

" _No_! I'm sorry! Please don't haunt me!" Video Error sobbed.

"Oh, calm down Scooby Doo! I was kidding!" Q-Boom shouted, "Besides, I ain't dead. I can't haunt you because it hurts to be down here too long anyway. So Phobia, how did you meet Turtletop over here?"

"Vid's one of Soundwave's sparklings," Phobia explained, "I'm hiding him from the other Autobots. I don't wanna see him get hurt. What he really needs is to go home to the Nemesis 2, but I don't know how to get him there."

"I see," Q-Boom thought for a moment, and then asked, "So Turtletop, what's your alt mode?"

"Why do you keep calling me Turtletop?" Video Error asked; offended.

"I don't know. Your blue and green colors mixed with your big helmet kinda remind me of a turtle," Q-Boom replied.

"Well stop it! I don't like it," Video Error snapped.

" _Good luck_ ," Phobia rolled her optics as she spoke, "Q-Boom nicknames everyone. She has called me Cadaver-Mobile on so many occasions I lost count. She also calls my Daddy Paddy Wagon, she calls Sunstreaker Banana, and she calls Ironhide the Free Candy Van."

"Could you not mention Ironhide?" Video Error requested, "That guy gives me the creeps."

"Noted," Phobia replied dutifully, "By the way Q-Boom, Video Error is a triple changer. He transforms into a cassette player and also a thin streamlined jet."

"A jet, huh? We might be able to use that…" Q-Boom said thoughtfully.

"Use it for what?" Video Error asked with trepidation.

"For your escape, Turtletop," Q-Boom replied in a snarky tone of voice, "Drink both of the energon cubes. You're gonna need a lot of fuel for this one. I know where the Nemesis 2 is right now since I've been flyin' around the planet for a while. I'll guide your every move, and you fly to the ship. Once there, you'll be back with your family and the rest of us can go on with our lives."

"That's a great idea!" Phobia cheered.

"Wait!" Video Error stopped the celebration before it got started, "I can't fly like this. I can't sense my own controls. Freezeframe had to fly me last time. What am I gonna do? I don't want some spark ghost in my body!"

"I'll fly you," Phobia offered, "I promise I'll be careful. We'll get you home to your family, I promise."

"You'd really do that for me? Why?" Video Error asked; humbled.

"Because I know what it's like to be alone," Phobia replied sincerely, "You have a daddy waiting for you. It would be wrong to keep you from him. Don't worry. We'll get you through this. I'll take you to the wash racks so you can clean off the mud before we leave. We have private wash racks in here, so you won't have to go into the halls and risk being seen. Come on Vid, take my arm. That's good. Now, sparkling steps."

Phobia carefully led Video Error to the wash racks which were just to the left of the closet where Phobia slept. Q-Boom was surprised by how patient and caring Phobia was being with the Decepticon sparkling. She had really matured since the last time the ethereal spark had seen her.

When Phobia got back she sat on the berth and drew a big smile on her face plate for Q-Boom to see.

"Pheebs," Q-Boom said soberly; suddenly very serious, "I know you like this kid, but you need to remember that after we take him back he won't be your friend no more. The next time you two meet it'll be as enemies. He's gonna be a Decepticon soldier, and you're gonna be an Autobot soldier. When you're adults, he'll try to kill you. He might even succeed. Don't get too attached to him."

"Q-Boom, _we_ used to be Decepticon sparklings," Phobia reminded her, "It looked like our futures were written in stone. We were either going to be Decepticons or, more likely, their slaves. That didn't happen. You became an Autobot, and I probably will too. Remember Honey Venom? She used to think Megatron was the coolest mech in existence, and yet she died trying to kill him to stop his reign of terror. Video Error is Soundwave's son. He's _not_ Soundwave. Anything could happen. All I know is I want him to be my friend. I hope you can understand that."

"...Yeah. I guess I can," Q-Boom reluctantly replied, "I just worry about you. You're the only other Sigma Sister left. I should probably back off though. You've already got one overprotective parent. You don't need me givin' you the business, too."

"Thanks, Q," Phobia replied; her optics smiling along with her chalk-drawn face.

* * *

The two sparklings and floating spark were flying over the ocean. Phobia wasn't used to flying a jet, so Q-Boom would occasionally have to give her pointers. That was when she wasn't giving her directions. Video Error tried to stay calm, but he felt like he was a mere passenger in his own body with Phobia at the controls. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid by keeping the spark ghost at arm's length. _Figures_ …

It took a few hours, but they finally arrived at the Nemesis 2; a ship floating 10,000 ft. above the ocean. It was a grand ship with a dark purple hull lined with red pinstripe lights indicating its power source. Video Error couldn't see it, but he could feel it's raw power through his plating.

"Alright kiddies, I'm gonna go through the hull and explore for a bit," Q-Boom told them, "You'll have to dock at the hangar. You think you can land this guy, Phobia?"

"Sure thing, Q-Boom!" Phobia replied gamely as she squeezed tighter on the controls, "Brace yourself Video Error. It might be a tight landing…"

Phobia then made a sharp turn straight up and then back down! Video Error didn't know what this crazy leech was doing, but he didn't like it! He felt like he wanted to purge his fuel tanks! She straightened out and then he suddenly felt his body skidding across the grinding metal floor! He couldn't transform because he might crush Phobia, so he had to endure the rough landing.

Once he stopped and Phobia climbed out he transformed back into robot mode. He had never been so glad to not be a plane anymore.

Phobia grabbed his arm and helped him up. He was worried for a second that she was going to accidentally drain him, but she didn't. He wondered if she had some sort of safety switch in those suckers or something, but it seemed like the wrong time to ask, so he just let her guide him through the ship. They went quite a distance before Phobia spoke again.

"I've never been here before," Phobia told him, "Which way do you think Soundwave is?"

"Um...I've never been in here either," Video Error admitted sheepishly.

"Oh," Phobia replied; disappointed, "I guess we should've waited for Q-Boom."

Both sparklings were lost, and neither one knew what to do about it. Phobia couldn't leave until she found Soundwave for Video Error, and Video Error couldn't get to his Dad when he couldn't see where he was going. Phobia realized after a few minutes that Video Error was her ride, and she might not be able to leave at all. It scared her, but she didn't want to scare Video Error, so she continued to lead him by the hand and walk along the endless purple hallways.

* * *

Starscream, meanwhile, was performing Soundwave's task of monitoring the ship. He hated this job! Why did Soundwave and his little peons have to go off on a mission to save his stupidest peon? Starscream had to correct himself on that one. Video Error might've been a pawn, but he was a very useful one, or at least would be someday.

It didn't seem fair that such a soldier would one day be in Megatron's command. Starscream knew how to take that sparkling and turn him into a killing machine, but no one allowed him to prove it. His experiment could make Video Error perfect if he were just given a chance!

Thundercracker and Skywarp were monitoring the ship as well. Skywarp was leaning back in his chair and dozing off. Even Thundercracker looked bored.

"I joined this unit to kill Autobots, not to sit on my aft and look at security monitors!" Skywarp complained loudly, "The Autobots get their own security chief. Why can't we?"

"Because we don't have the mechpower for it, Skywarp," Thundercracker sighed, "Just drop it."

Starscream snapped at them both to shut up when he saw activity on one of his monitors. He waved away their questions as he stared intently at the monitor. It was Soundwave's little abomination! He had returned! Starscream couldn't tell who was with him. It wasn't Solarflare or Freezeframe, but that sparkling did look somewhat familiar…

"Oh, scrap!" Starscream exclaimed miserably when he figured it out, "That's one of the Autobot sparklings! I didn't think there were any left!"

"Which one is it?" Skywarp asked curiously as he leaned forward on the back of Starscream's chair.

"Hm...I know the seekerling died," Starscream thought, "As did that poisonous femme and the carrier… Who does that leave?"

"Uh, Starscream," Thundercracker interrupted his commander's train of thought, "I'm pretty sure that's the energon leech. The one that tried to drain Ramjet."

Skywarp's jaw went slack as he realized what that meant. That little monster could kill them all and make herself more powerful in the process. If she was holding Video Error hostage, that could spell big trouble for the Decepticons. Starscream stared at the pair of sparklings as well but with a very different, more sinister, expression.

"We should tell Megatron immediately!" Skywarp suggested.

"No!" Starscream interjected, "I've had plans for that Video Error since the cycle he was born. I've been waiting for this moment! No Soundwave, and no Megatron. Just me and the boy. We will have our chance to take over the Decepticons yet, brothers."

"I don't like this…" Skywarp shook his head in denial.

"You won't harm the sparklings, will you?" Thundercracker asked worriedly, "Video Error is our teammate, and even though the leech is an Autobot she is still just a sparkling. She may yet be convinced to join us."

"Oh she will, Thundercracker," Starscream said with a wicked smirk, "She _will_ …"


	13. Change Is Not Easy

_Author's Notes: Well, this chapter is scary. There is no other way to say it. I'm actually pretty happy with how it came out, and I hope you guys like it too! Once you get to the end of this chapter, I'm sure you'll have figured out what element from TFA we're incorporating. Let's just say things for the sparklings won't be the same after this. Thank you for reading, and please review :)_

* * *

Chapter 13

Change Is Not Easy

Phobia and Video Error found themselves in the mess hall. It seemed like a bad time to refuel, but Phobia insisted she needed energon.

"Okay, grab some energon. I'll wait," Video Error acquiesced.

"Um, it's not that simple," Phobia replied sheepishly, "I need you to drink it, and then I'll drink it from your fuel lines."

"What? _Never_!" Video Error replied as he shrank back in on himself.

"Please, Video Error?" Phobia begged, "I don't wanna starve before we even get to Soundwave! I need your help!"

"No!" Video Error barked, "I'm not your buffet! Leave me alone!"

Just then three shadows fell over the sparklings, and Phobia turned around to see the seeker trine standing over them! Starscream's face had a nasty smirk on it, and Skywarp was grinning like an idiot at the cute little sparklings. Thundercracker looked uneasy.

" _Ahh_!" Phobia shrieked.

"What is it? Who's there?" Video Error asked nervously.

"Seekers!" Phobia exclaimed; terrified.

"Um, Skywarp isn't with them, is he?" Video Error whimpered.

"Sure am, little guy!" Skywarp replied with a lopsided grin.

Video Error froze. He had some bad experiences with that seeker, not the least of which was getting frozen while on the Ark. If it hadn't been for Skywarp teleporting then he and his siblings would have never been hurled into outer space, they never would've lost their Daddy, and he never would've been left in the care of the very mech that burned down his first real home! Skywarp was evil, no two ways about it! Video Error would do anything to get away from that giant oaf!

Before she could even register what was happening, Phobia felt herself being pushed out of the way by Video Error, and watched in fear as he ran straight toward the seekers, through Skywarp's legs, and down the hall! He crashed into the wall with a thud, but quickly righted himself and ran to the left.

"Aw, the sparkling wants to play!" Skywarp cooed affectionately; too stupid to realize Video Error was actually afraid of him, "I'll catch him!"

Video Error could hear that massive mech's footsteps coming for him! He didn't know where he was going, he didn't know where the next wall would be, but he had to keep running! He was sure his life depended on it! His legs pumped despite the darkness of his world. He would get away from Skywarp no matter what. He wasn't going to be that thug's target again…

* * *

Soundwave and his family had fled to Darkmount. Their camp had been destroyed, and they had to be placed in a spare room in the palace while awaiting their new assignment. Soundwave had to meet with Megatron, but he couldn't leave his 1 vorn old sparkling alone, so he ordered Rumble and Frenzy to care for their little brother. They reluctantly agreed.

"What're we supposed to do with him?" Frenzy asked, "I don't wanna watch him."

"We _have_ to watch him," Rumble said with his arms crossed over his chassis, "He's a good sparkling. We'll just stick him in his playpen and I'm sure he'll behave. Make sure he has his little Megatron. He cries without it."

"Why do I have to do all the work?" Frenzy whined.

"Because I covered for you when you destroyed the boss's files pertainin' to that Autobot escapee from the Kaon prison 2 vorns ago," Rumble reminded him.

"Fine!" Frenzy huffed; not happy about his new task.

Frenzy picked up little Video Error, who was already almost as tall as Frenzy, and walked him to his pen. Frenzy gave him a cube of low grade energon and took the Megatron toy off the shelf to hand to Video Error. Little Video Error reached up for it with both hands, and Frenzy waggled it in front of the sparkling for a few seconds before giving him the toy. Video Error grabbed the metal doll and hugged it close to him before shoving it in his chest compartment.

Frenzy turned to leave, but Video Error called him back, and the black and red cassette sighed audibly.

"What is it, little bro?" Frenzy tried to sound patient, but he sounded more like he was trying to convince himself to go to the dentist.

"What's that?" Video Error pointed to a cube on one of the study shelves.

"That? That's Soundwave's high grade," Frenzy explained, "Only grown ups like me and Rumble are allowed to drink it. The boss drinks it sometimes too, but only if we have a reason to celebrate somethin'."

"Why do you call Dad _the boss_?" Video Error asked.

"Because he is," Frenzy shrugged, "You'll have to call him that someday too. Once you're an adult, the fact that Soundwave is your creator ain't gonna matter. We're Decepticons, and Decepticons don't ask for mommy and daddy. Now go to bed, you little runt. Rumble and I are gonna watch the fights on TV. I think we're on the news tonight for that raid on the Autobots. I hope they got my good side."

Video Error waited for his big brother to leave the room, and then listened to make sure no one was coming. Once he was sure he was alone, Video Error used his tentacles to climb the grating of his playpen and escape. They said the high grade was for grown ups and celebrations. Maybe if he drank it he would be grown up and able to help his Dad fight just like Rumble and Frenzy could.

It took a few breems for Video Error to finally climb the shelf and get the high grade. He was afraid he'd spill it as he climbed down, but he managed to get to the chair without spilling a drop. He felt so cool! He managed to not spill his drink, and he was going to refuel like a grown up.

He sat back and downed a bunch of the stuff in the cube. He had to stop when his tanks felt like they were on fire! He coughed up some of the glowing multicolored substance and tilted his head back to relieve the pressure! Once he recovered, however, he realized that he felt great. He'd never had this much energy before, and it was incredible! With that realization, he drank the rest of the cube.

A few minutes later Video Error walked out of their quarters and started exploring the rest of the palace. Rumble and Frenzy were too engrossed in their TV watching to even notice he was gone.

Video Error's steps became unbalanced as he walked along the winding corridors. His visor began to replay random clips from old broadcasts as well as private conversations he had recorded in the past. It was the recording-carrier equivalent of slurring his words. Everything was blurry and spinning as the sparkling swayed across the floor and searched for something fun to do. Maybe a game of _the floor is acid_. He shrugged to himself and kept walking.

Video Error finally made it to a long set of stairs. He couldn't even see the bottom, but that might've been due to the high grade. He almost stumbled, but managed to catch himself at the last second. He did notice that his reflexes were a little off at this point. Maybe some more grown up energon would help…

He didn't even notice until it was too late that a large winged form had teleported behind him until it was too late. Skywarp saw a new victim for one of his pranks, and pushed the stumbling little 'Con down the large flight of stairs!

Video Error felt himself tumbling! He was hitting every few steps painfully, and he knew he needed to stop his fall. He tried transforming into jet mode, but he was too close to the ground! His left wing was clipped clean off his body! When he fell to the bottom of the stairs he was crying and leaking energon.

Rumble heard the commotion and ran out of the room. He saw Skywarp laughing at the top of the stairs near their room, so ran to see what poor sucker got too close to the seeker. He looked down, and couldn't believe his visor! It was Video Error!

"You fraggin' idiot!" Rumble reprimanded Skywarp, "You pushed my baby brother down the stairs! He's just a vorn old!"

"Really?" Skywarp asked, slightly concerned, "Then why was he overcharged?"

" _What_?" Rumble asked hotly.

He ran down the stairs to see Video Error crying, his wing torn off, and his energon staining the floor! He looked at the energon coming from the wound and sure enough, there was high grade mixed in there! That stuff could kill the sparkling! Rumble called for a medic to come quickly for his baby brother! All Video Error could think about though was his injuries and the pain in his helm.

* * *

Video Error didn't see the wall before he hit it, and he struggled in vain as Skywarp picked him up.

"No! Don't hurt me! I want my Dad!" Video Error cried as he wriggled in Skywarp's immovable grip.

"Aw, calm down little guy," Skywarp said as he held the sparkling close to his cockpit, "You're okay. You're okay...You're gonna go see Uncle Starscream. Won't that be fun?"

"Whatever it takes to get away from _you_!" Video Error shouted angrily; his fear replaced with defiance.

"Yeesh! You're a moody little thing, aren't you?" Skywarp commented as he went to Starscream's lab with the little bundle of nerves.

Thundercracker, meanwhile, had managed to grab Phobia with no trouble. Realizing she was an energon leech, he grabbed her from the back of her neck cables and held her at arm's length so she wouldn't be able to get a hold of him.

"Let me go! I don't wanna go anywhere with you!" Phobia shouted as she likewise struggled to free herself just as Video Error did from Skywarp.

The pair of seekers brought their catch to Starscream in his private lab. He rarely had the chance to use this space since Megatron normally had him performing his duties as military SIC, but Starscream was still a scientist at spark. He had wanted to be a scientist in the Decepticon army once he became an officer, but Megatron insisted that Shockwave was all they needed. It infuriated Starscream, but he would show them with this latest project!

Skywarp and Thundercracker dropped their charges onto two operating tables. Video Error realized that he would be strapped down soon, and might only have one chance to escape, so he pulled his training pistol out of sunspace and fired; hoping to hit Skywarp.

"Agh! You little freak!" Starscream shrieked as he clutched his left arm, "That's it! I was going to put you under for the operation, but now I want you to feel each and every incision I make in your bare protoform!"

"Operation?" Video Error squeaked timidly, "Wait! I'm sorry! I didn't want to shoot you! Honest! I wanted to shoot Skywarp. I'm really sorry, Commander! I mean it. I'm sorry."

"Too late," Starscream spat in contempt as he readied his equipment, "Skywarp, I want you to monitor for any activity that could interrupt our plans, whether it be Autobot or Decepticon."

"You got it, 'Screamer!" Skywarp declared as he gave a mock salute and left the room.

"Thundercracker, I want you to scan the leech's CNA structure for anything unusual. Anything we might need to know that could be useful to us," Starscream commanded.

"Yes, Starscream," Thundercracker replied dutifully, "Just be careful with Video Error. He is still just a sparkling, and still your potential soldier."

Starscream harrumphed and wiped off the instruments he was going to use for his latest experiment. This was his best idea he'd had in a while. He would separate the personality components of the little triple changer and then delete the parts that were detrimental to a good soldier; leaving only the perfectly tuned mind of a killing machine. Before he could do that though, he would have to fix the little ingrate's body. He began to remove the cracked visor and ignored the scream of pain that came from the helpless sparkling.

Thundercracker hated working under these conditions, but there wasn't much he could do. If he and Skywarp didn't do as Starscream said, he knew the consequences would be dire. Starscream knew that their weak link was each other, so for Skywarp's sake Thundercracker would grit his denta and do his job.

Starscream scanned Video Error and figured out that the sparkling was missing his tentacles, so he left the room to retrieve new ones, and Video Error knew he was gone once he heard the footsteps recede in the distance. He just didn't know who else was in the room.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Video Error asked pitifully.

"I'm here, Vid," Phobia answered before Thundercracker could, "Just stay calm. I think they're trying to repair you."

"I'm scared," Video Error admitted, "I want to be strong, but I don't think I can."

"Then just do something to distract yourself," Phobia suggested despite being likewise poked and prodded by her impromptu nurse.

"Okay...Distract myself…" Video Error tried to think, "Oh, I know! Let's play a game! We can play _confession_. I don't have to see for that one."

"What's _confession_?" Phobia asked.

"We ask each other questions, and the first one to refuse to answer loses," Video Error explained, "I'll start. Phobia, what's the worst thing you've ever done?"

"Well...I once drained an orphan from my foundling home that had just died," Phobia admitted, "I was starving, and his energon would just go bad in there if I didn't take it, so I took it. My turn. Video Error, who was the first femme you ever kissed?"

"My sister," Video Error replied, "If you mean romantically, I haven't had my first real kiss yet."

"Me neither," Phobia replied, "Mr. Thundercracker. How long is Starscream gonna take?"

"Thundercracker?" Video Error gasped, "Thundercracker! Please! Tell my Dad I'm here! I'll make sure he knows you shouldn't be punished. Just _please_ tell him."

"I'm sorry kid, I can't do that," Thundercracker replied remorsefully, "Don't worry. Starscream isn't going to kill you. You're going to be alright."

"And Phobia?" Video Error challenged, "She's an Autobot! Is she gonna be alright too?"

"That's up to her," Thundercracker said darkly.

Video Error started to cry, and Phobia started to cry at seeing him cry. This was not an easy task for Thundercracker. He didn't want to harm these innocent sparklings. Video Error was one of them. This didn't make any sense! Even the leech didn't seem like much of a threat.

At that moment, Thundercracker's scanner pinged, indicating that it was finished and Phobia's vital information was available. According to the scans she was an energon leech. _Yeah, thanks for the update!_ Thundercracker thought sarcastically. He also saw that she had no pre-existing viruses, her energon was low and she would need to be refueled, and her spark was normal. He read as far as her CNA signature, and that was when he froze.

" _No way_ …" Thundercracker breathed.

Phobia noticed his wide optics and stunned reaction, and feared the worst. She gulped, and was sure they were going to kil her for some reason. Thoughts of her Daddy raced through her mind. Would he run away after she died the way Sunstreaker and Sideswipe ran away? Would he blame her? Would he kill himself? She shook her head and moaned trying to make the bad thoughts go away!

"Are you alright, little one?" Thundercracker asked; concerned.

"Don't kill me!" Phobia finally begged, "I'm not ready! I wanna go home! Please let me go home!"

"Try being in my position," Video Error called out to her, "I actually _am_ home!"

Starscream came back at that moment with the spare tentacles to repair the sparkling. He was soon stopped by Thundercracker, who wore an expression of shock and urgency on his face plates.

"What is it, Thundercracker?" Starscream asked impatiently.

"The leech…" Thundercracker leaned in so that the sparklings wouldn't hear him, "I just read her file, and according to the scans her father is a Decepticon. Dirge, to be more specific."

"Dirge? The Conehead?" Starscream asked incredulously, "But that thing is a car-former!"

"I know, but she is his daughter. Why didn't he tell us about her?" Thundercracker wondered.

"Since when are we close to the Coneheads?" Starscream asked rhetorically, "We can investigate later. For now, I need you to assist me with the sparkling's surgery. First we repair him, and then we rebuild him in our image."

All Phobia could do was watch in horror and listen to the screams of her bound and helpless friend as the pair of seekers operated. They connected and welded his tentacles, but made sure to bind them to the table first so he couldn't use them against his captors. Starscream also gave him a shiny new visor that covered over half of his face.

"Hm...This blue and green frame is ugly," Starscream pondered as he stood back and stared at the sparkling, "I say we repaint him."

"Do we really have time for this?" Thundercracker sighed longsufferingly.

"Sure. All we have to do is strip off his paint," Starscream shrugged.

Video Error gulped as he saw the acid brush come into view. That thing would take the color out of his nanites, but it would also hurt like the pit! Video Error swore that if he ever got out of this he would personally hold Starscream down and peel his plating off bit by bit! Part of him was grateful that Solarflare and Freezeframe weren't there to experience this, but he also ached for his new friend Phobia who would likely experience all of this and worse.

Once the nanites were blanched, his body was grey with a few stray black marks. He felt so violated, but Starscream just smirked when he saw how much more intimidating the new color looked. Then he connected a few wires directly to Video Error's processor. Phobia tried to break out of her restraints to save her new friend, but she wasn't strong enough. She was only a sparkling, and these bonds were made for adults. Not even her Daddy could escape this.

Video Error's screen turned blue and said **Stand By**. Starscream went over to the terminal to scan the processor for the main components of Video Error's personality. He found 5 major components. Sanity, Daydreams, Anger, Playfulness, and Fear. Starscream nodded. This was too easy. Video Error would be allowed to keep his sanity and anger, but the other three were disposable emotions that only got in the way of a good Decepticon.

Starscream began to type in the code to delete the three reject parts, but he didn't notice the floating pink ball above his terminal. Q-Boom had only got there a second ago, but she could already tell that they were doing something bad to Video Error. Phobia looked terrified, and Video Error's face was just a blue screen and a mouth. Realizing she had to act fast, Q-Boom dove into the computer and short circuited it! The seekers ducked away from the sparking device, and Q-Boom shot out of there to pick the locks to the sparklings' restraints!

The two seekers were too confused to see the bonds being broken, or Phobia getting up and grabbing Video Error's unconscious body. She ran away with him, with Q-Boom bringing up the rear. They didn't know where they were going, but they had to go now!

Seeing a dark room that looked abandoned, the three ducked into it to avoid their pursuers. Starscream and Thundercracker ran past it without noticing their quarry was in there. Phobia sighed in relief and looked down at Video Error. He was still unconscious.

"Q-Boom...How are we gonna get out of here?" Phobia asked softly; on the verge of more tears.

"Don't worry. I'll send a distress signal to the Autobots. They'll find you," Q-Boom replied comfortingly, "You need some help waking up Turtletop?"

"Don't call him that," Phobia said without conviction, "He doesn't like it."

Just then, Video Error's visor turned on, and it was his usual shade of red instead of that blue screen of death! Phobia wanted to cheer but couldn't lest she make too much noise, so she settled for hugging Video Error.

"Wha..What happened?" Video Erro asked, "Where am I? Who are you?"

"What?" Phobia asked uncomprehendingly.

Then, something even scarier happened. The red visor fritzed for a second, and the color turned purple! When it did, Video Error's face took on a wide crazed smirk, and he played a recording of the Joker's laugh from Batman!

Phobia stared wide-eyed in fear at Video Error. Something was wrong. Something was very, _very_ wrong!


	14. The Five Faces of Video Error

_Author's Notes: This chapter has a lot of action in it. I wouldn't quite call it a montage writing style, but it's close. By the way, congratulations to **Cashagon** for getting the TFA reference first! I hope everyone is enjoying this story, and please don't forget to leave a review :)_

* * *

Chapter 14

The Five Faces of Video Error

The purple-visored mechling played the recording of creepy laughter and stepped closer to Phobia. Q-Boom had left to go get help. She was alone with Video Error and didn't understand what Starscream had done to him! Was she going to die? Was he going to hurt her? What if the seekers found them here? She shook with fear and waited for whatever was going to happen. She just didn't have the spark to fight her new best friend.

"Hey lady! You wanna know something?" Video Error asked Phobia in a conspiratorial tone of voice.

Phobia timidly nodded her head; sad that he didn't recognize her.

"I...Like this room! It's so dark and small and we can paint any color we want on the walls! Then we can run around with wet paint on our bodies and hug everyone!" Video Error exclaimed vibrantly, "You got any paint? Say, you wanna see a trick! I can make energon disappear!"

"We don't have time for this Video Error!" Phobia hissed desperately, "We need to find a way out of this base! I don't know why your team is hurting you, but I promise we'll-"

Before Phobia could finish, however, Video Error started pulling on her forearm armor and Phobia could feel it peeling off! She screamed and jerked her arm away from the grinning crazed sparkling! She ran out of the room crying, and Video Error gave chase immediately!

Phobia turned a corner, and Video Error knocked over consoles and objects as he ran. Phobia found herself in a supply room full of weapons, and Video Error ran in after her; the door closing behind them!

"Please Video Error, I'm your friend!" Phobia pleaded, "What do you want?"

"What do _I_ want?" Video Error asked in a hammy voice, "I want...A heater! This place is so cold and drab! Nah, a heater wouldn't work. Let's cuddle!"

"What?" Phobia asked; caught off guard by Video Error's random train of thought.

Suddenly, Video Error's visor flipped again, and where it had once been purple now it was orange. It still didn't look normal. In fact, the orange colored seemed to glow brighter than the other two colors.

"So, you think you're too good to be seen with me, huh?" Video Error snapped angrily as he ran up to Phobia and stood right in her face, "Well, how would like a nickel knuckle sandwich? Followed by a tentacle around your neck cables!?"

"Video Error stop!" Phobia sobbed; unsure of what happened to him, "Why are you yelling at me?"

The visor switched colors again, and Phobia was surprised to find it was a light shade of blue! Did he just turn Autobot?

"Hi, I'm Video Error. What's your name?" Video Error asked as if they had never met.

"Um...Phobia?" Phobia played along since she didn't know how to help him, "Um, can we get out of here, please?"

"That's a great idea!" Video Error exclaimed, "Let's race! I'll bet I can get out of this room faster than you!"

Then Video Error started running toward the door, and a stunned Phobia watched as he made it to the door and then yelled "Yes! I won! Great game, Phobia! What do you wanna do now? How about we build a house of cards? Maybe we can play with our toys, or play hide from the seeker!"

Phobia walked toward him hesitantly. She was starting to put the pieces together as she watched him. The visor color represented a different personality. Starscream was trying to delete parts of Video Error, but it seemed that instead he jumbled the triple changer's personalities into individual pieces while wiping out part of his memory. She thought about the colors she had seen. Red was his normal self. Purple seemed to be crazy. Orange was angry. Light blue loved fun and games, so he was playful. She remembered that Video Error had five parts to his personality...So what was missing? She was almost afraid to find out.

"Aha! I found you!" Skywarp exclaimed as he entered the hall and observed the sparklings.

Video Error's visor changed colors again, this time to yellow, and a look of pure terror crossed his features.

" _No_! Please! Go away, Skywarp!" Video Error begged as he started running.

"Really? You remember _him_?" Phobia asked; offended.

Skywarp ignored the leech to chase after the little triple changer. Video Error, seeing the seeker getting closer, ran for his little life! His memories were fuzzy, but he still recalled being shot when he stood too close to that seeker. He also recalled the stairs incident, and he wouldn't let that creep catch him.

Video Error felt his legs getting tired, but his fear pushed him forward. It was as if fear was all that existed. His whole life was getting away from that seeker and nothing else.

His quest was interrupted by Starscream blocking his exit, and Skywarp grabbing him by one of his tentacles!

"No! Please! _Let me go_!" Video Error screamed; his yellow visor glowing.

"Thought you could get away, eh?" Starscream mocked the sparkling, "Well, once we fix the computers we'll have you right back on that operating table. Won't that be fun?"

Then the visor shifted again, and suddenly it was purple! Video Error couldn't think straight anymore. He looked at Skywarp's wing, and for some reason it looked delicious. Licking his glossa, Video Error suddenly clamped down on Skywarp's wing; biting the sensitive appendage with all his might!

" _Yaaaahh_!" Skywarp howled in pain as he tried to pull the sparkling off.

Try as he might, Skywarp couldn't get the little carrier off his wing! Video Error was hanging onto the wing by nothing but his mouth! It probably would've been funny if it hadn't hurt so bad. Starscream pulled, and it actually caused his left wing to be ripped off! Skywarp started crying when he felt the pain, saw the energon leaking from the wound, and noticed that his precious wing was still in the mouth of that little beast.

"Why would you do that?" Skywarp whimpered at the sparkling, "I thought we were friends."

Then the visor shift once again to orange, and Video Error spat out the wing and looked at Skywarp with a murderous glare.

"Friends? With _you_?!" Video Error shouted as he stomped toward the purple and black seeker, "You're the one that injured my wing when I was only a vorn old! You are the one that left me to freeze in the cold vacuum of space! By the way, how's that wing feel? Because you deserve it for doing _the same thing to me_!"

Then the sparkling started punching the seeker's legs. It didn't hurt Skywarp, but the raw anger coming from the sparkling was unexpected. It caused Starscream to smile. This was just the kind of warrior they needed.

* * *

Q-Boom led a rescue party of Autobots to the location of the ship. Most of the Autobot troops were out fighting the Decepticons who had gone on a rampage in Moscow, but there were still 12 qualified Autobots left to save the sparklings. Red Alert led the team followed by Blaster, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe. Blaster also had all 7 of his cassette symbiotes with him, and Powerglide was outside ready to fly them back to base.. It had been a long time since the twins had fought alongside their fellow Autobots, so Blaster and Red Alert were a little nervous about having them along.

"Alright everybody, listen up!" Red Alert intoned, "Q-Boom, you're the fastest since solid objects aren't an obstacle for you. You'll scout for the sparklings and report back to us. Once we locate them we go in fast, and we go in hard. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe will attack first to weaken any Decepticons we might find. Then I'll attack after them. Blaster, you bring up the rear with the cassettes and retrieve the sparklings. Move out!"

Q-Boom left quick as a flash, and after a couple minutes managed to locate Phobia and Video Error. Video Error's visor was orange and he was thrashing around in Starscream's grip and spewing curses as if they were bullets, and Phobia was cowering away from Skywarp; who was slowly trying to grab her but nervous because of her sigma ability.

She flew back quickly and informed Red Alert of the location and situation of the sparklings. Red Alert was furious that anyone would try to harm his little sparklet, and Blaster was confused that the seekers wanted to harm Video Error. He knew this was a bad place for him! He would have to take Video Error back if it was the last thing he did!

The twins charged first, and that was enough to scare Skywarp into warping away! The twins hadn't been on earth in years, and it was the last thing any of them expected to see! Starscream realized he would lose if he had to fight in close quarters, so he dropped Video Error and quickly grabbed Phobia! He held her up for all to see, and the wicked smirk on his face gave a clear message: One move and I'll kill her!

The twins stopped, and Red Alert stopped after them. Blaster and the cassettes were still too far away to see what was happening. Video Error's visor turned yellow, and his cowardly personality decided that he had to run. He had to get away as soon as possible!

* * *

Meanwhile, Soundwave and his cassettes had already returned to the Nemesis 2. They were in the medbay to treat an injury Rumble sustained during battle. Soundwave gently soldered the wound on Rumble's right pile driver. The poor blue and purple 'Con squirmed the entire time.

They still had not found Video Error. They had gone back to the Ark and had Ravage go inside the ship and spy for them. He searched everywhere, but ultimately Ravage couldn't find the little triple changer sparkling. Everyone was bummed out about it, but it hit the other two sparklings the hardest. The three of them had not been apart since Solarflare and Freezeframe were born. It didn't feel right without Video Error.

Soundwave logged into the system to passively monitor the ship. He may have had some personal issues, but his job was still to observe everything that went on aboard the ship. He immediately noticed that the camera in Starscream's lab was shut off. This was suspicious, so Soundwave logged into the terminal's records to see what that red and silver seeker might be up to.

What he saw horrified and angered him. It was a file for Project: Gaslight. That was an experiment Megatron forbade due to the fact that it only worked on triple changers and their supply of triple changing soldiers was running low. Starscream had tried to perform the operation on Blitzwing, but Megatron saved the poor slagger just in time. This, however...There were files on Video Error in here.

That good for nothing glitch was trying to use his sparkling to make some sort of scientific abomination! No! He allowed experimentation on Video Error once, and nearly lost him in the process. He wouldn't allow Starscream to do this to his son!

* * *

Video Error ran as far as his little pedes would carry him. Everyone was out to get him! The Decepticons wanted to kill him. The Autobots wanted to kill him! He wouldn't be surprised if the humans wanted to eat him! Everything in the universe was scary and bad!

After a few moments he crashed into a long red leg with a speaker attached to the front! When that happened Video Error's visor snowed like an old TV and then turned red. He was back to his default personality. Now all he had to do was sort out his jumbled memories.

Video Error looked up and saw that a large red and yellow Autobot was looking down at him, and he was surrounded by cassette minions. The cassettes didn't register in his memory banks, but this Autobot did. He saw that face and remembered kindness and acceptance. He remembered watching a late night movie. He remembered eating energon on the berth even though he wasn't supposed to. He remembered being hugged goodnight.

"Are...Are you my Daddy?" Video Error quietly asked the Autobot.

Blaster was taken aback by the timid question. Did Video Error want to be adopted by him after all? Did the Decepticons show their true colors and harm this poor helpless sparkling? Blaster's spark felt conflicted with feelings of anger toward Video Error's attackers and feelings of love and concern for his little adopted son.

"Yes Video Error, I'm your Daddy," Blaster said with a warm smile.

Video Error held his arms up for Blaster to pick him up, and Blaster reached down for the sparkling. He hugged the boy close, and he could feel Video Error squeeze tighter. Blaster knew then that he would never allow anyone to harm this child again. If only he could find the other two before something bad happened to them.

* * *

Starscream held the little leech in a headlock that threatened to pop the poor femme's helm off! The others glared angrily at Starscream, but they couldn't actually do anything lest they endanger the sparkling.

Starscream felt confident in his escape as he backed away from the Autobots and toward a split in the halls. He knew just where he would go to escape. Soon he would have his super soldier, a leech, and his trine to aid in his conquest of the Decepticons and eventually Cybertron! He was so absorbed in these thoughts that he didn't even see the mech behind him until he backed into him.

"Ack! Watch where you're going you- Soundwave!" Starscream screeched when he saw the hot red light emanating from the communication officer's visor.

"Starscream: explain," Soundwave said in a colder tone of voice than usual, "Video Error is missing. Where is Video Error? Explain yourself."

"Oh, well, I haven't seen him," Starscream stammered, and hoped Soundwave would believe his lie.

"He hurt Video Error!" Phobia quickly shouted before Starscream pressed his servo to her mouth; only to see she didn't have one, "He did something to Video Error's mind and now he's acting crazy! Starscream wants to delete his personality! Please help Video Error! Please!"

"Silence, you brat!" Starscream screamed as he threw Phobia against a wall.

Red Alert was running for her before she even impacted! Phobia hit the wall hard, and everyone could hear her internals clatter inside of her! Red Alert held her in his arms and checked for her spark signature...still alive! She was, however, in stasis lock.

Soundwave was appalled by Starscream's actions! As much as he hated the Autobots, not even he would hurt a sparkling so callously like that. Starscream had tampered with his son, and he had almost killed the Autobots' sparkling. He had to _pay_.

Soundwave took out his cassettes and ordered them to gang up on Starscream! He was pinned by the combined might of the minicons, and soon Soundwave ordered them off so he could beat Starscream himself. Starscream scrambled on the floor to escape, but Soundwave was faster and had soon pinned Starscream to the wall and was tearing off his wings!

"AAHH! Why does everyone go for the wings?" Starscream shouted in agony as he tried to struggle free, "Let go of AH! I am your superior officeOW! Stop it!"

"Starscream: surrender Video Error," Soundwave demanded in a cold monotone as he cocked his shoulder blaster and prepared to fire on the trapped seeker.

"I don't know where he is!" Starscream explained hurriedly, "He ran away during the fight! Honest! I'll find a way to change him back, just don't shoot!"

The Autobots turned to retreat. They had Phobia and they didn't really need to rescue Video Error. He was a Decepticon. They could just leave him here with Soundwave and the cassettes. Besides, Starscream was getting what he deserved. They had no reason to stay.

That train of thought was quickly interrupted when Blaster came running toward them with his cassettes and Video Error in tow.

"Hey guys!" Blaster said jovially, "I found Video Error! Ah, I see you've got Phobia. Let's boogie on outta here then!"

"Halt!" Soundwave ordered, "Surrender Video Error!"

Video Error's visor switched to yellow again, and he started crying in fear and hiding his face inside Blaster's chassis. The cassettes couldn't believe what was happening! Their own brother was looking to _Blaster_ for protection? From _them_? Starscream had messed with the little carrier's head more than they realized.

Soundwave moved closer to Blaster, who held the child protectively. Video Error's visor changed once again back to red, and he stared at Soundwave blankly.

"Video Error: return," Soundwave commanded the sparkling.

"Who are you, and what do you want with me?" Video Error asked suspiciously.

Frenzy used the moment of confusion to slam a pile driver into Blaster's leg, and the boombox-former buckled over in pain; forcing him to put the sparkling down. With the sparkling out of the way, Soundwave used this moment to land a punch on Blaster's face plate! Blaster wiped away a stream of energon from his mouth and returned with a backhand!

Before long the adults were fighting, and Video Error was upset that the blue and white stranger was hurting his father!

"Come on, Video Error. Let's give Dad some room to finish that slagging Autobot!" Solarflare said with a smirk as she offered her hand to Video Error.

Video Error's visor shifted again, and this time it was bright orange! _Anger_.

"Stay away from me, you scrapping glitch!" Video Error shouted venomously, "Your dad is no match for my dad, and you're no match for me!"

Before Solarflare could so much as make fun of his potty mouth, Video Error jumped her and started punching her in the face and chassis! She and Video Error had argued before, but he had never harmed her like this! She knew she had to defend herself, however, so she fired her flame cannon!

Video Error backed away, but he was still enraged! Since Solarflare wasn't a good target for his fury, he turned back to the adults. Soundwave had Blaster pinned under his weight, and the adult cassettes were fighting Sunstreaker and Sideswipe! Blaster's cassettes tried to attack Soundwave, but none of them were powerful enough to fight the seasoned Decepticon.

That Soundwave mech was hurting his Daddy! Video Error grit his dental plates and grabbed his training gun from subspace. The triple changer then emptied his energy cells into Soundwave's body! It wasn't enough to even slow down the adult carrier, but it was enough to get Soundwave's attention.

Once Soundwave was distracted, Blaster kneed him in the crotch plate and shoved the Decepticon off of himself! Solarflare and Freezeframe tried to hold Video Error back from getting to Blaster, but they weren't strong enough to deal with Video Error when pure anger fueled his every action!

When Blaster got close enough, the visor flickered back to its normal red, and Video Error silently asked to be picked up again. Soundwave couldn't believe what he was seeing! His own creation shot at him, and then sought the arms of his mortal enemy! The cassettes, old and young, were likewise stunned. They were too stunned to stop the Autobts from leaving with Video Error.

When the fight was over Soundwave slowly walked away from the hall. This wasn't over. He would find a way to reverse what Starscream did, and then he would get his son back.

One by one the cassettes followed Soundwave. The only ones that stayed behind were Ravage, Solarflare, and Freezeframe. Freezeframe didn't move, but Ravage nuzzled Solarflare and layed his helm on her lap.

"I understand that this doesn't make a lot of sense," Freezeframe said awkwardly, "Video Error will return to us. You'll see. We just need to be patient and have faith in our Dad's ability to fix this."

Solarflare had just sat there quietly for a few moments, but at those words she finally broke down and cried! Freezeframe was very uncomfortable with this, since Solarflare never cried in front of others; especially her brothers.

"He left us!" Solarflare wailed, "He attacked me, and then he _left us_! The Autobots stole our brother! What are we going to do, Ravage? What can we do now?"

Solarflare sobbed loudly and huddled closer to the big cat. Ravage didn't object to his little sister's need for reassurance, even when she hugged his neck cables too tightly. Freezeframe soon started gently hugging his older brother Ravage as well, and that was when Ravage understood just how dire this situation was.

He was used to Freezeframe's nonchalance and Solarflare's hot tempered cursing and bravado. He sometimes forgot that they were only 2 vorns old. Without Video Error, the oldest sibling they had that wasn't a soldier, they were lost.


	15. Moving Forward

_Author's Notes: This chapter is mostly a quiet one. More of a segue into the action that will come later. That being said, I have an announcement to make to those who actually read these things. **GoldenIceNinja** has quit the project, and now I'm writing the rest of Custody Battle alone. I don't know his reasons why, but I hope his future fic projects are successful. This fic will continue since he has allowed me to continue using his OCs, and I will continue to do my best to portray them with the same respect I give all of the Transformers characters I write. **GoldenIceNinja** brought energy and action to this fic, and I would say with the last chapter he went out with a bang :)_

* * *

Chapter 15

Moving Forward

Red Alert sat by Phobia's berth and held her tiny servo in both of his. Ratchet had repaired the damage and was now examining Video Error, but Phobia still had not awakened from her stasis lock. He knew she would be fine, but Red Alert was still angry and hurt. It was odd to think that at one time he had trusted Starscream enough to actually work with him! Oh well, that was ancient history.

Blaster was also in the medbay waiting for Ratchet to finish his scans on Video Error. The sparkling's moods seemed to change every few minutes, and Blaster wondered how the little guy wasn't getting exhausted from all the shifting. At the moment Video Error was in anger mode and trying to attack First Aid with a monkey wrench!

"Get back here, you slagger!" Video Error barked at the hapless ambulance-former, "I know you were watching me! You want my helm? Well, come and get it you ugly son of a stick shift!"

" _Ah_! Ratchet, what do I do?" First Aid asked helplessly.

"Just keep him busy for a second," Ratchet replied.

First Aid groaned, but then noticed that Ratchet was preparing a sedative for the little berserker. Ratchet managed to inject the sedative into Video Error's tentacle, and the sparkling actually lunged for the medic before falling over into unconsciousness.

"Whew!" First Aid sighed in relief, "That was close."

"Blaster, I'm not sure you're prepared to handle the level of care that Video Error will require now," Ratchet said point-blank, "Nothing like this has ever happened to a Cybertronian before. Video Error's processor is warring with itself. Each personality is jockeying for domination over the rest of the body."

"Is there a cure, Doc?" Blaster asked with his hands wringing worriedly.

"I'm afraid not. There isn't even a field of science that studies this type of condition," Ratchet replied bleakly, "Realistically, we can expect that Video Error will be this way for the rest of his life. There's nothing I can do for him. My suggestion would be to find a foundling home on Cybertron where we can take him. I'm so sorry."

"A foundling home?" Blaster spat in disgust, "First of all, there isn't enough of Cybertron left to support a community, let a lone a foundling home! Second, there is _no way_ I would leave Video Error in one of those places! Not after what we've seen! I've met troops that've come from those environments. It messes with their heads! _Pit_ , the twins came from one of those places! Phobia and her friends came from one of those places! You remember what happened to them, right?"

"Only too well," Ratchet replied ruefully, "You need to understand however that we are an army unit. The Ark is a ship of soldiers. We don't have the resources for a special needs case like Video Error."

"He doesn't need _resources_ ," Blaster sneered, "He needs love and understanding. I can give him that. I have a lot of experience with sparklings from taking care of my own cassettes. I have experience with adoption from taking in Shriek, Screwball, and Turret. I've done all this already. I can do it again."

Ratchet sighed heavily. He truly did want what was best for Video Error. They couldn't give him back to the Decepticons for fear of what Starscream would do to him. They also couldn't allow their enemies to use the sparkling as a weapon against them. He also knew that Blaster was a good mech (even if he was a slob at times). Still, to ask the carrier to look after a young triple changer with violent mood swings and an almost criminal level of instability? It seemed like too much.

"Come on Sparklet, get up. That's a girl!" Ratchet heard Red Alert saying soothingly to Phobia as she stood up on her own.

That was another problem they had to consider. Video Error could be dangerous to Phobia. She was at least a vorn and a half younger than Video Error, and she was so trusting. Could he be trusted to be in the same classes with her? The same room? The same _building_? Ratchet rubbed the bridge of his nose cone and tried to think of a solution that would benefit everyone. After all, he couldn't be around to sedate the sparkling every time he went off the deep end.

Video Error awakened, and his visor was back to its normal red. He smiled up at his new father, and Blaster scooped him up in a hug. Ratchet couldn't say no to them. He knew this might be a mistake, but the truth was they had no easy answers. The sparkling was there to stay, and since Blaster was the one who wanted to take care of him, then Ratchet didn't know what else to do but allow it.

* * *

It was a few hours later when Blaster and purple Video Error were moving in a new minibot berth for the sparkling when there was a knock on the door. Video Error's visor turned to red and he ran to answer the door. Phobia was on the other side holding a vase with dying dandelions and water inside.

"Hi, Vid!" Phobia greeted him warmly, "I brought you a housewarming plant!"

"Haven't I always lived here?" Video Error asked; confused.

"Well, like Q-Boom used to say, we are here and it is now. That is all that matters," Phobia quoted her friend to avoid the touchy subject of Video Error's memory, "So, you wanna come over to my quarters and play with our toys? I found some glue for your Megatron."

"My what?" Video Error asked obliviously.

Phobia opened his chest compartment, and he shrunk back a little at having her touch such a personal area, but then she pulled out two halves of a grey toy and he understood.

"This is your Megatron," Phobia showed him, "We can fix him now!"

Blaster saw this and was appalled! Megatron had his own toy? What was next, a toy based off his gun alt mode? He didn't want Video Error to have the toy, but then he realized that if he just took it that could trigger another unwanted mood shift. He decided to just wait for Video Error to fall asleep and then get rid of the toy before the sparkling woke up. Great parenting? No. Necessary? Blaster thought so.

* * *

Phobia held her black model car while Video Error held his Megatron toy, which he had decided to rename Minitron. They were playing in Phobia's closet bedroom and having a nice time. Video Error's visor had turned light blue, so he was really getting into the game.

"Halt, car-former! Identify yourself!" Video Error said in a gruff voice to sound like Megatron while he shook the toy.

"Hi, my name is Booboo, and I'm an Autobot!" Phobia said in a slightly deeper voice than her natural one as she held up the model car, "I'm gonna go save the rainforest from being blown into the sun by a combiner!"

"Hm, I like your grit, Booboo!" Replied _Minitron_ , "Join the Decepticons, and together we can rule the universe!"

" _Never_!" Phobia shouted in her hammiest voice, "For the rainforest!"

Then the sparklings started clacking their toys together for an epic battle of wills. They never got to figure out who won though, since Phobia stopped playing when she heard her daddy coming home from work.

"Daddy!" Phobia shouted as she rushed to give her daddy a hug.

"Sparklet!" Red Alert shouted back as he picked up his sparkling, "How was your day, sweet spark?"

"Great!" Phobia replied, "Video Error and I are playing Autobots vs. Decepticons!"

"Video Error?" Red Alert muttered, and then looked at the closet to see Playful Video Error walking out to see them, "What is he doing here?"

"We're playing, Daddy!" Phobia replied as if it should be obvious, "We managed to repair his Megatron doll, and later we'll see if he remembers how to carve metal into toys."

"Well then, it was nice of you to drop by Video Error, but I'm sure Blaster is getting worried," Red Alert said with forced politeness, "I think it's time you went home for the night."

Video Error's mind went blank as he stared up at Red Alert. His visor flipped yellow as he remembered Red Alert. He could remember the hallways of the Ark. He remembered a fight. Red Alert was there, and Video Error's visor was weird. It moved at odd angles. Right, his tentacles! He was seeing through his tentacles! He recalled Red Alert grabbed his tentacles and ripped them off his body! It hurt, and everything was dark! Red Alert hurt him!

"AAHHH!" Video Error screamed as he ran out the door to get away from Red Alert.

"Uh oh," Phobia said softly, "We should tell Blaster that Vid's gone Coward on us."

Red Alert set Phobia down on his berth, and then sat down beside her. He sighed sharply, and then turned to look at his little femmeling.

"Phobia, I don't ever want you to invite that sparkling over again," Red Alert said gravely, "Video Error is dangerous, and possibly a spy. I don't want to ever catch him in our quarters again, and I would prefer it if you didn't see him socially anymore either. Do you understand me, Sparklet?"

"But Daddy, he's my friend!" Phobia shouted as she started to cry, "You can't make me stop being friends with him! You can't do that! I won't let you!"

Phobia then started shouting incomprehensibly as she sobbed and screamed. Red Alert wasn't used to Phobia throwing tantrums, but then again he wasn't used to taking something important away from her either. He wanted to hug her and tell her that everything was alright, but he couldn't. _He_ was the thing that was making her act that way in the first place.

"Now Sparklet, I'm not doing this to be mean," Red Alert tried to say over her crying, "I'm trying to protect you!"

Phobia wouldn't stop, however. Red Alert didn't know what to do, so he left the room to try to find Inferno. He couldn't think of anyone else who could make her stop. This was not what he expected at all. Didn't she see the danger she was in?

When Red Alert finally came back with Inferno, they saw that Phobia was offline. She had cried herself into stasis lock. Red Alert didn't know what else to do, so he gently scooped up Phobia and placed her back in her own berth to recharge. They would have to wait until the morning to settle the debate about Video Error.

* * *

The Decepticons' next mission was to take place on Cybertron. The Nemesis 2 was filled to the brim with soldiers ready to attack the Autobots without mercy. Soundwave didn't want to participate in this mission. He wanted to stay on earth and retrieve his son, but Megatron needed him for this mission, and his loyalty bond would not allow him to betray his master; not even for his sparkling.

While the adults plotted and trained for conquest, Solarflare and Freezeframe were both left alone for the day. They were supposed to stay in their father's room, but they instead found themselves in the wash racks. Freezeframe held a large cube filled with clear liquid, and Solarflare was giving him directions to pretend to drink it and then hold it up.

"I do not understand the purpose of this endeavor," Freezeframe said stoically.

"It's a commercial, dummy!" Solarflare groused, "You hold up the cube of water and pretend it's energon, and then you say 'Join the Decepticons, and refuel Cybertron'. It'll be great!"

"But Solarflare, we were not asked to make a commercial," Freezeframe pointed out, "Besides, there is no one here to film this. Video Error always filmed our exploits."

"Oh," Solarflare's mood deflated as she slumped down on the wash rack floor.

The sparklings had tried many things to entertain themselves since coming aboard the ship, only to find that each thing required their brother. They tried to make up games, only to realize that neither one of them had an imagination worth slag. They tried to play cards, only to realize the cards were in Video Error's subspace. Now they realized they couldn't even record things without their older brother. Video Error truly was the glue that held this young unit together.

"We have to get him back," Solarflare declared as a hard determined look crossed her face.

"What's the point?" Freezeframe said in a surprisingly pessimistic tone, "He doesn't remember us. Starscream hurt him, and the Autobots processor-wiped him. Even if we brought him back with us, we have no plan to make him remember us."

"That part's easy!" Solarflare exclaimed dismissively, "We just show him things that will make him remember us. Just like on TV. As a backup plan we could hit him on the head with a heavy object."

"Well...Since Video Error recorded most of our home movies, perhaps we could find some to show him," Freezeframe suggested.

"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Solarflare said excitedly, "We just have to find some!"

The twins checked their subspaces, but neither one could find home movies. Video Error always had them, so they never saw a need for extra copies. Freezeframe did, however, find an old photograph preserved in a sheet of crystal.

It was a picture of the safe house the three sparklings lived in when Soundwave was working back on Cybertron. In the picture everything was covered in ice because of Freezeframe. The floor was icy, and the furniture was icy. The three sparklings were ice skating, and in the picture Video Error was flailing around while Freezeframe skated and Solarflare sat on her aft after falling down. Their sparkling-sitter Shackle had taken the picture before he was killed several orns later.

"Do you think he'll believe us?" Solarflare asked in an uncharacteristically soft voice as she looked at the photo in Freezeframe's hand.

"He must. This evidence at least proves we were on good terms with him," replied Freezeframe, "Don't worry, Solarflare. We'll figure this out. At least now we have Dad and our older brothers to help us."

"Do you think the Autobots will torture him?" Solarflare asked bluntly, "We were together before. Now it's just them and him, and he's too crazy to tell us if they do anything to him. What if they weaponize him? They might rip out some of his wires and attach them to a set of jumper cables. That's what Dad did to that one Autobot a few vorns back."

"That was more than a few vorns back," Freezeframe reminded her, "We were in stasis lock for a long time. That being said, I don't think the Autobots will harm him. They might be vicious killers, but they seem to have a soft spot for sparklings. Blaster probably wants to turn Video Error against us, but I doubt he wants to harm Video Error."

"Good," Solarflare said as she stepped out of the wash racks.

Freezeframe followed her out of the room. They weren't allowed to interact with the warriors, so they slowly walked back to their room. They didn't know how they would get their brother back, but they kept themselves busy by looking for things that would jog his memory for when he returned. Neither one dared to speak about what kind of mechling they would actually be getting if he did return. They didn't want to think about that.


	16. Life Is Scary

_Author's Notes: Good news, everyone! My partner in crime is back to help me write this story, though he no longer goes by the username **GoldenIceNinja**. I won't say what his new username is because I don't know if he's okay with that or not, and I don't like to presume. There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but it's more for buildup than anything else. Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this installment of Custody Battle, and I hope you enjoy and leave a review :)_

* * *

Chapter 16

Life Is Scary

Wheeljack tested the sensors on the new plasma rifle he was making for Cliffjumper. The only light in the room was the pink glow of his daughter Q-Boom as she moved from side to side so Wheeljack could see if the sensors worked. The sensors seemed to work as intended, so he powered down the weapon and turned the lights back on. Cliffjumper would be happy with his new toy.

"Listen Pop, I've gotta go soon, but I wanted to talk to you about my new body," Q-Boom said without preamble.

"It's coming along nicely, sweet spark," Wheeljack reported, "I used most of the old specs, but I added a thruster upgrade to make you fly faster. I think the extra speed will come in handy next time you battle a Decepticon."

"Yeah, that's nice but…" Wheeljack could tell Q-Boom was feeling awkward about whatever it was she wanted to say, but he couldn't figure out why, "...I was wonderin' if you could make my body a little more... _feminine_."

"What do you mean, Q-Boom?" Wheeljack asked; confused, "I thought you liked the muscular mechly look."

"Not anymore," Q-Boom replied, "I wanna look more like a real femme. I've got an important day comin' up, and I just wanna look my best."

"Oh? What sort of important day?" Wheeljack asked curiously.

"Well...I didn't wanna say anythin' until we set a date but...I'm gettin' bonded. I met someone, and I'm gonna get bonded," Q-Boom informed him.

"Q-Boom, that's great!" Wheeljack exclaimed happily, "I can't believe you didn't tell me! Who's the lucky mech? Don't tell me; it's Slingshot isn't it?"

"Nah," Q-Boom dismissed the notion, "I rejected Slingshot, and when I finally was ready to date he was too freaked out by the fact that I'm just a spark ghost. Actually, most of the crew treat me different because of that."

"Okay, so it's not Slingshot. Who is it then?" Wheeljack asked with anticipation.

"...Cosmos," Q-Boom said in a rare bashful moment, "He proposed last orn. We still haven't set a date though."

"Cosmos?" Wheeljack asked for clarification, "He's a short weird loner that spies on people, talks to himself, and levitates cows for fun. He's a perfect son-in-law!"

"Oh, I knew you'd love him, Pop!" Q-Boom shouted as she floated around cheerfully, "So, do you think you can do it? Make me a pretty body? If I'm gonna have a bond mate, I really wanna try harder. You know what I mean? I don't want Cosmos to take one look at me and think he made a bad deal."

"Q-Boom, Cosmos loves you now, right?" Wheeljack asked pointedly.

"Yeah. So?" Q-Boom asked.

"Well, you're just a spark right now. If Cosmos can commit to you even when you don't have a body, then don't you think he can love you with the body you designed? Your old body represents your personality. If you really wanna change it, then I'll do it for you, but think about it first. I don't want you to think you have to change who you are to be good enough for a mate. You're good enough right now."

"Well...okay, I guess," Q-Boom said uncertainly, "It's just that my old body is 25 feet tall. Cosmos is only 10'7" tall. I don't want him to feel weird about this."

"He's a minibot. It's normal for them to be short," Wheeljack reassured her, "I'm sure he won't mind. I've got an idea. Show him what your old body looks like with this photo from your upgrade. If he likes it then you're all set, and if he doesn't then we can work on something else. OW!"

"You felt that too, huh?" Q-Boom asked rhetorically as her spark wavered in pain, "Yeah, the atmosphere is crushin' me. I gotta go. Tell Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop I said hi! Oh, and tell Phobia I'm glad she didn't die!"

"I will!" Wheeljack shouted up as Q-Boom floated away through the ceiling.

Wheeljack ran to the nearest window (which was at the end of a hallway) and watched as the little pink ball of light ascended into the sky and eventually disappeared from sight. Wheeljack smiled after her. He wasn't surprised that she found someone in outer space to be with her. Space was the only place that didn't cause Q-Boom pain. The fact that she fell in love at all though...yeah, that surprised him a little.

* * *

Video Error and Phobia played together despite Red Alert's warnings. They stayed in Blaster's quarters to play though since she didn't want to fight with her daddy on this matter. Video Error was in Blue mode, and he felt like playing a video game, so they played a game of Slender on the computer terminal.

Video Error said he felt drawn to the atmospheric creepiness. What he didn't want to say was that since his best friends were Phobia and Q-Boom it made sense to him. They were the Cybertronian equivalent of monsters. One was a spark that wandered the universe in search of a body, and the other was a being that feasted on the energon inside other Transformers. Video Error couldn't help but realize he was now a part of the 'monster club' as well since he was an experiment gone wrong and split into 5 different beings vying for control of one body. Together, these three were the stuff of nightmares.

"Hey Phobia, you said you and your friends used to be called the Sigma Sisters, right?" Video Error asked as his character wandered in the foggy woods on the computer screen, "So, does that mean I can be a Sigma Brother?"

"The Sigma Brothers were a different gang," Phobia told him as she watched over his shoulder while he tried to escape before Slender Man found him, "Besides, I don't have to be in a gang anymore. I'm not an orphan. Neither are you. We're Autobots now. Oh, I think I saw something behind you! Turn the camera that way!"

Blue Video Error did as told, but for the moment his virtual self was safe. They went onward, and Video Error searched for the way out while Phobia watched. After a few minutes Slender Man appeared on the screen, and unfortunately in that moment Video Error's visor turned to Yellow! Yellow took one look at the game over screen and ran out of the room screaming!

"The Slender Man's gonna come out of the computer and get me!" Video Error screamed as he ran down the hall; Phobia running after him.

Video Error bumped into Prowl as he was making his daily rounds, and the black and white mech looked down at where the sparkling fell. Yellow Error looked up at the Praxian and noticed his expressionless face, flaring doorwings, and white helm.

" _Ah_! It's Slender Man!" Video Error screamed in terror as he scrambled to escape Prowl.

"He's not Slender Man!" Phobia shouted as she grabbed Video Error.

Video Error wailed and struggled to get out of Phobia's grip, but she knew he would eventually calm down and change personalities if she just held him long enough. She just hoped he didn't change to Orange Error and kick her aft.

"Let go! He's gonna eat us!" Yellow Error cried out even though Prowl was already gone.

"I don't know...Why you're worried," Phobia grunted as she struggled to keep hold of him, "If anything _you're_ Slender Man! You're the one with the tentacles!"

"I'm Slender Man?" Yellow Error asked timidly, " _Nooo_! I'm Slender Man! Help! I'm gonna get me!"

"Okay seriously, did Purple Error steal your color scheme?" Phobia asked irritably while she held onto her delusional friend.

Video Error went rigid then, and his visor began to shift. Phobia held her intake to see what Video Error changed into. The visor went Blue, and Phobia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hi, Phobia!" Blue said cheerfully, "I can't believe Yellow made me lose my game! Hey, you wanna play again? Oh, how about Five Night's At Freddy's? That one is more colorful anyway."

"No thanks," Phobia replied, "Daddy says that's not an accurate representation of how a security guard does their job. He reprogrammed my version of the game to have a gun in the room to shoot the stuffed animals. I tried playing with Uncle Ratchet instead, but he just thought the animatronics looked injured and said that game was too graphic for sparklings."

"Oh," Blue Error said dejectedly, "Then how about a game of chess? I'm pretty good."

"That sounds nice," Phobia smiled and took his hand in hers.

Phobia wondered how Blaster did this full time. She liked Video Error, but his insanity was starting to pose a problem. She only hoped he didn't change when they played chess, but part of her knew he would. That was just the new normal.

* * *

Q-Boom floated away from the atmosphere and embraced the nothingness around her. She hadn't thought of Slingshot in forever. She supposed she wouldn't have to think about him now if she would just keep her father informed of what she was doing when she wasn't on the Ark.

Cosmos was in his alt mode orbiting Mars. There was a new colony of humans on the planet, and he liked to watch them work sometimes. She could tell though that he wasn't watching them at the moment. She had a feeling she knew what he was doing though, and phased into the interior of his alt to see what he was up to.

Just as she thought, he was playing Asteroids on a retro game emulator. The keys seemed to push down on their own as Cosmos manipulated his keyboard, and the joystick turned this way and that as he focused on blowing up imaginary enemies. Q-Boom knew there was no getting him away from his games when he was like this, so she floated over one of his seats and waited for him to finish.

Finally Cosmos noticed she was there and turned off his game.

"Quantum Boom, when did you get here?" Cosmos asked in a daze.

"In earth time? Two hours ago," Q-Boom replied dryly, "Could be worse. Last time I came back you were tryin' to dance the moonwalk in outer space."

"I'm sorry," Cosmos said heavily, "I should've noticed you sooner. It won't happen again."

"Ah, that's alright," Q-Boom dismissed the incident, "Listen, I told Pop about our engagement. He's makin' a body for me, but it'll be a while."

"Did you have fun on earth?" Cosmos asked.

"Yeah, you should've come with me," Q-Boom chided him, "I'm sure Blaster has already told you about his new addition."

"Oh yeah! The new sparkling! Wow, Blaster is one lucky guy," Cosmos said wistfully, "I know the sparkling is damaged, but still. He had 8 kids! He's never alone."

"Yeah, I don't know how you stay up here by yourself," Q-Boom commiserated, "I'd go nuts if I had to be in solitary confinement like this without so much as the ground to keep you company. I like to fly, but landin' is nice too."

"I agree, but I'm not alone now," Cosmos said meaningfully, "I still don't know why a young energetic femme like you would choose a washed up old mech like me."

"Well, for one thing you're the only mech I've ever met that doesn't just love me for my body," Q-Boom joked.

"No, I don't. You have a good spark, Quantum Boom," Cosmos said seriously, though there was an amused air to his words.

"Listen, uh, Cosmos. Can I show you what my old body looked like?" Q-Boom asked, "You weren't there when I had a body, so I figure I should let you know. Bear in mind that I might change it so that I look less like Grimlock."

Cosmos looked at the downloaded file, and said "You don't look anything like Grimlock. For one thing, he doesn't have as many spikes. That's more of a Snarl thing."

"Quit foolin' around!" Q-Boom whined, "Do you hate it or not?"

"What? Of course not! I've never seen a seeker frame that looked like that before. I think it makes you unique," Cosmos replied sincerely, "I hope you keep it. That frame looks pretty sturdy. In space you need to have a sturdy frame. Personally, mine is strong enough to dive right into the sun. Of course, I can't stay there for more than 4,000 astro seconds, but it's still very useful."

"Can I ask you another question?" Q-Boom asked abruptly, "Have you ever interfaced before? You can tell me. I'm just curious."

"No, not really," Cosmos replied; sounding a little embarrassed, "I mean, I've certainly tried, but most femmes find my frame type offputting."

"Yeah, me neither," Q-Boom told him, "Of course, mine is more of an age thing. That and...to be honest, the idea of lovin' someone scares me. I could _lose_ you, Cosmos. In fact, it's pretty likely that one of us will die before the war ends. I don't want us to have to live without each other."

"Don't worry about tomorrow," Cosmos said as he displayed a picture of earth's clouds on his terminal to calm her down, "We are here, it is now, and that is all that matters for the moment. We're going to be okay. You'll see. I look forward to losing my virginity to you, Quantum Boom."

"You really don't know how to talk to femmes, do you?" Q-Boom joked lightheartedly, "You know, if anyone else called me Quantum Boom I'd hop into their computer and download a virus. What are you _doin_ ' to me? I'm goin' soft because of you!"

Cosmos laughed, but then after a few seconds sobered up again as he remembered something important.

"Quantum Boom, I intercepted a transmission from the Nemesis 2," Cosmos informed her, "Shockwave is sending a cache of weapons from Cybertron over the space bridge. They're also readying Trypticon for deep space transport to earth. We need to warn the others as soon as possible, but I haven't finished my encryption system to ensure the Decepticons won't hear us."

"So what do we do until then?" Q-Boom asked, though she feared she knew the answer.

"What else?" Cosmos said in defeat, "We wait."

Q-Boom groaned. Cosmos might've been important to the Autobot cause, but he had one of the most boring jobs in the universe.


	17. Complex

_Author's Notes: I know I have taken_ way _too long to update this fic, and that this story deserves more attention than that. I haven't heard from my writing partner in quite some time, and I supposed I was giving him time to contact me in case there was an idea he felt was essential to the story. He never did, but I don't want this story to languish and become a dead fic, so I came back to it. There's still a lot of sparkling adventures left, so don't worry. I wrote this chapter alone, but there may still be collaberation chapters down the road. No one can predict what the future holds :)_

* * *

Chapter 17

Complex

Blaster onlined bright and early on the day of Metroplex's arrival. The city-former was touching down outside Central City on this day, and Blaster had promised Video Error and the cassettes that they would all go to see the new Autobot team together.

Blaster heard a crashing noise coming from the other side of the room, and he knew that Video Error was already awake. He saw that Anger Error was active at the moment, and he was throwing around various bits of clutter from the floor.

"Stupid stereos!" Video Error shouted as he threw a boom box against the wall and watched it break, "Stupid scrap parts!" He shouted as he threw more junk, "This place is a mess! How can anyone _live_ this way!? _I've had it_!"

"Good mornin', Video Error," Blaster said in a friendly manner.

Blaster knew Video Error wasn't really mad at him. He was just mad and didn't know why. Some would say Blaster was too permissive toward his new son, but he knew Video Error couldn't help the way he was acting. Getting mad at him would only cause them to fight each other. It wouldn't change how quickly Video Error's mood changed back to normal.

"You live like a Junkion!" Video Error shouted irritably, "I just want to take a bomb to this place and blow it all up! I hate living here! Dad, can we move?"

"Well, get in the wash racks and we can leave in about a groon," Blaster replied evasively, "We're goin' to see Metroplex today."

"I don't want to go!" Video Error pouted, "Get lost!"

"Now, Video Error-" Blaster started to try to reason with him.

Video Error would hear none of it though. He used his tentacles to whip Blaster further away from him! Blaster held up his arms to protect himself, but his legs got most of the damage since Video Error was so short. Video Error shouted again and threw a lead pipe at Blaster's shoulder guard!

"Ow, Video Error! Stop it!" Blaster shouted; starting to lose his temper but keeping enough of his cool to know not to touch the sparkling, "You need to chill, mech!"

The word _chill_ made Video Error remember Ironhide. He barely had a flash of a memory of Ironhide blasting his liquid nitrogen cannon at someone...Video Error didn't remember who Ironhide hit, but he remembered feeling scared of the mech and worried about whoever got shot.

"You're right, you're not my enemy," Video Error stated, but Blaster knew something was wrong since his visor was still orange, "Ironhide is my enemy! I need to stop Ironhide!"

Video Error tried to run past Blaster, but the radio-former was prepared for that move and grabbed the sparkling by the waist! Video Error struggled and screamed as he tried to get out of Blaster's grip so he could hurt Ironhide! Blaster had him in a bear hug and knew he couldn't let go until Anger Error was gone. Video Error's angry side seemed to show up more and more lately.

Until then, Blaster would just have to hold the mechling and keep the poor little guy from hurting himself.

* * *

Red Alert awoke suddenly when Phobia jumped up onto his chassis and started pushing on him to get him to online.

"Wake up, Daddy! It's today!" Phobia shouted excitedly.

"Yeah, it's today...and yesterday was yesterday," Red Alert replied groggily; still confused in his half-conscious stupor.

"No, today is Metroplex!" Phobia clarified, "Metroplex arrives, and so does the rest of the Autobots with him! Come on, Daddy! Online! We've gotta get ready!"

"We?" Red Alert asked skeptically.

"Sure, I'm going with you," Phobia replied as if it were obvious, "Blaster is taking Video Error, so I should be allowed to go, too."

Red Alert nearly fritzed right there. Blaster was taking a _Decepticon_ to Metroplex's unveiling? That kiddie 'Con could do some serious damage! At the very least, he could transmit valuable information to Megatron. That sparkling could be a spy, or worse, an assassin! There was _no way_ he could allow Blaster to take that triple changer sparkling to see Metroplex!

Red Alert started running down the hall before he even washed, and Phobia followed behind him blissfully unaware of the suspicious thoughts in her father's processor.

When Red Alert barged into Blaster's quarters Video Error was in Playful mode and hopping around on a hopscotch board he drew on the ground, the cassettes were refueling on their morning energon, and Blaster looked exhausted.

"Blaster, you are not taking that degenerate youngling to Metroplex!" Red Alert ordered crossly.

"Oh, come on Red!" Blaster groaned, "I've had a rough mornin'. Whatever the problem is, can't you just let it slide?"

"Absolutely not!" Red Alert barked, "No sparklings at the landing sight!"

" _What_? But Daddy!" Phobia whined.

"No buts!" Red Alert snapped, "Autobot City could very well be a target for Decepticon attack. It's too dangerous for sparklings."

Video Error stopped playing hopscotch once his visor started glitching again. Blaster held his intakes for whatever was coming next, and Video Error looked up at Red Alert with a yellow visor and a look of terror on his face plate.

" _No_! It's the scary police mech!" Video Error shouted frantically and hid under Blaster's berth.

"Police mech? I'm with the fire department!" Red Alert corrected him; insulted at being lumped into the same group as Prowl.

"Video Error? Are you okay?" Phobia asked softly as she bent down to look under the berth at him.

"No! Don't hurt me!" Video Error whimpered.

"I won't. I promise," Phobia said gently, "That reminds me though. Daddy and I should probably leave. He needs to refuel so I can feed off him."

"You're going to drain your own _father_!?" Coward Error asked; repulsed.

"He doesn't mind," Phobia explained, "You don't have to be scared of me. I'm going away now. I'll see you when you feel better."

"Will you drain me?" Video Error asked apprehensively.

"No," Phobia replied, "Bye, Video Error. I'm sorry we can't go see Metroplex. Maybe next time."

"Yeah...bye," Video Error replied in a small voice; almost not scared of her.

Red Alert quickly took Phobia by the wrist and dragged her away from Blaster's quarters. He didn't like Phobia being anywhere near that messy mech or his newly adopted spy. It felt like a conspiracy. Maybe Blaster was a traitor and Video Error was all part of his plan to hand them over to the Decepticons. After all, Soundwave was the only other carrier on earth besides Blaster and Video Error. Why wouldn't he rather be with one of his own?

Blaster watched them go with a worried look on his face plate. Red Alert was always a little screwy, but it seemed like lately he was even worse. He just hoped it didn't have an effect on the friendship Video Error had formed with Phobia. She seemed to have a way of talking to Video Error to get him to calm down. She was also happier with him around. They were good for each other, and Blaster wanted to keep it that way.

* * *

More and more Autobots were being transferred to other outposts. Some were going to the moon bases near Cybertron, some were going to a new human colony on Mars to help them maintain the infrastructure, and some were going to Cybertron itself to be with Optimus Prime and his forces. That meant that what few Autobots were left on earth had their work cut out for them.

The Aerialbots had stopped Menasor and Bruticus from leveling Seattle to collect the energy from its destruction, but Skydive and Silverbolt were both injured. Ratchet was already gone since he had been assigned to Cybertron, so they went to Autobot City to elicit the help of Wheeljack to repair their injured members.

Wheeljack had recently moved his lab to Metroplex since he was assigned to stay on earth permanently. He was happy with his assignment, but was a bit upset that the Dinobots didn't want to stay with him. Even though they were built on earth and had more in common with earth creatures than Cybertronians, the five beast-formers had always been fascinated by Cybertron and had dreamed of living there for as long as Wheeljack could remember.

Between his sons going to Cybertron and his daughter getting married to a mech that had to be constantly on the move, it seemed like Wheeljack's family didn't need him as much anymore. He was starting to experience what the humans referred to as 'empty nest syndrome'.

The Aerialbots came in just as Wheeljack was sorting his various inventions in order of how urgent it was they be completed or repaired. Slingshot and Air Raid were hanging onto Silverbolt's arms so he could attempt to walk on his own, and Fireflight had Skydive in a bridal-carry position. Skydive was unconscious.

"Oh, my! What happened?" Wheeljack exclaimed as he ran to inspect the broken down Aerialbots.

"We won," Slingshot replied simply; a smirk on his face despite how slagged they all looked.

"Yeah, those clunky combiners never knew what hit 'em!" Air Raid added enthusiastically.

"Alright, you can brag later," Wheeljack waved them over to a berth, "I've only got one medical berth set up, so Silverbolt with have to sit in that chair for me to examine him. I hope you don't mind, big guy."

"Not at all," Silverbolt nodded respectfully, "Have you heard anything from Optimus?"

"Yeah, Megatron's been going strong," Wheeljack replied unhappily, "I'll tell you, the way he's fighting now reminds me of the early days of the war, back when both sides had troops to spare. I don't know what's changed, but he's out for our sparks now. I really need to get Q-Boom's body finished. We could use her on the battlefield."

"Q-Boom's body?" Slingshot asked; his interest piqued.

"Yeah, it's over there," Wheeljack waved over to a corner of the room where a table with a tarp over it stood upright, "Listen, Air Raid, you wanna help me with Skydive? I'm gonna need some assistance with getting these fuel lines soldered back into place."

"Sure thing," Air Raid nodded gamely.

"I'll help, too!" Fireflight added.

Slingshot was no longer listening to them. He went over to the table where the body of their once and future teammate was, and looked behind the curtain to see what it looked like. This body was very similar to her old one, but instead of being bulky and mech-like it was more streamlined and feminine. For some reason Wheeljack still built it with spikes. Then again this was the guy who made the Dinobots. It made sense that he liked building things that looked primitive yet powerful.

"She's gonna be beautiful," Slingshot said in a softer tone than he normally used.

"What?" Wheeljack asked; not having heard him since he was engrossed in his work.

"Q-Boom, she's gonna be beautiful," Slingshot repeated.

"She insisted on it," Wheeljack informed him, "I still made her tall though. I don't want her to be too shocked by the change. She wanted to look more like an adult femme now that she's getting married."

" _Married_?" Slingshot asked incredulously, "When did this happen?"

"She just told me a week ago," Wheeljack shrugged, "She and Cosmos are getting married in a few orns."

"Cosmos? She's marrying that flyin' tunafish can?" Slingshot asked; affronted at the idea of one of their only femmes marrying a miserable minibot.

"Slingshot? Are you jealous?" Fireflight asked his brother, "You know _you're_ the one who ultimately turned _her_ down, right?"

Slingshot didn't want to think about that, but the truth was the memories were as fresh as if they happened last orn. He had been so sure they were meant to be…

* * *

Q-Boom had said she didn't want to date, ever, and that she and Slingshot should just be friends. He tried to sound respectful at first, but he couldn't get her out of his processor. He had to find some way to make her like him. There had to be something he could do to show her what a great mech he was!

He had learned from Tracks that femmes were impressed by rich mechs that were willing to spend a lot of credits on elaborate dates. The cred system didn't exactly apply on the Ark, but Slingshot was sure that if he made their first date look expensive and glamorous she would totally melt in his arms.

It took him three orns to convince her to give him a chance. She agreed to one date, but only if he'd shut up and leave her alone afterward. He said if she wasn't completely satisfied they'd forget the whole thing.

He took her to a private air hangar that a grateful human had let him borrow after the Aerialbots had saved his life. He had already set up a gauzy white tent with two high grade energon cubes on a table with a large linen tablecloth. He had considered making this a candlelit dinner, but the cubes would probably explode if he did that, so he settled for a high-powered flashlight between them at the table.

"This looks really swanky," Q-Boom commented when Slingshot showed her where they would be dining, "You shoulda got candles though. Those make the cubes explode. It's awesome!"

Slingshot facepalmed but didn't comment as they sat down. The next step in his flight of fancy was to show her how sophisticated and refined he could be. Tracks had told him femmes really went for refined mechs with exquisite tastes.

Q-Boom went to pick up her energon cube, but Slingshot stopped her and said "Wait! This is an aged Hyperion energon from Helex. You're supposed to drink it while holdin' the cube with both hands."

Q-Boom scowled, but she did as instructed. She then went to take a sip, but before she could Slingshot exclaimed "Wait! You're supposed to put a cloth or tarp over your lap in case you spill some."

" _Okay_ …" Q-Boom gritted her denta as she spoke, but set the cube down and placed the napkin over her lap.

She reached for her cube again, and right on cue Slingshot stopped her again when he said "This is certainly a refreshin' change of venue. Very classy, wouldn't you say, my dear? Certainly beats the everyday fare of those ground pounders back at the base, huh?"

"Up yours, _Mirage_!" Q-Boom finally snapped, "If I wanted to _not_ get crashed I coulda stayed home! What is with you tonight? You sound like Tracks!"

"Well, uh, actually, he was the one who gave me this idea," Slingshot admitted sheepishly.

"Oh yeah?" Q-Boom asked for clarification, "Then I'll have to thank him for ruinin' my evenin'. Look, what do you actually wanna do tonight?"

"Honestly?" Slingshot asked.

"Honestly," Q-Boom nodded sharply.

"I honestly wanna get to second base," Slingshot told her.

"What's that?" Q-Boom asked ignorantly.

"It's a human term," Slingshot replied, "Look, I don't care about this fancy stuff neither. All I want is to make out with you and maybe see some circuitry. I've never even seen the inside of your cockpit!"

"The seats are white pleather," Q-Boom informed him, "I know it stains, but brown is ugly."

"Look, why don't we drink our hoity-toity energon, and then see where the evenin' goes?" Slingshot suggested.

"I don't know about your evenin', but my evenin' is goin' _home_ ," Q-Boom crossed her arms over her chassis as she spoke, "It's not that I'm not flattered, but I think you and I have too much in common to make a good couple."

"Uh...I don't follow," Slingshot replied idiotically.

"I mean we act too much alike!" Q-Boom reiterated, "Besides, you're a different person at night, and it's creepy! Durin' the day you compete with me, make fun of me, and treat me like slag. At night you try to romance me and act all civilized toward me. You can't treat me like slag durin' the day and then act like I'm your lovebird at night. It doesn't work that way! If you're gonna be a jerk, then be a jerk! Just stop actin' like two different people! It's confusin' me!"

With that Q-Boom transformed into jet mode and took off into the starry sky; leaving Slingshot alone with two full cubes of high grade and a problem that needed to be solved. How could he win over Q-Boom when she wanted him to be honest? His honest self was someone who demanded attention, was self-absorbed, and wanted to interface with Q-Boom as quickly as possible. How could he get her to fall in love with him when he knew the real him wasn't what femmes want from a mech?

* * *

Slingshot recalled that evening with sadness and regret. That night he had only just begun to understand how selfish his infatuation with Q-Boom had really been. It had been the next orn when Q-Boom went on the mission that claimed her body and the lives of two of her best friends.

Slingshot remembered the day he found out about that as well. She had floated into the Aerialbots' training room and said hello, and Silverbolt had greeted her in a friendly manner. The others didn't though. They were all afraid of her, Slingshot included. They had heard stories about disembodied sparks trying to steal the bodies of living mechs and didn't want Q-Boom to do that to them. He had shunned her out of fear, and was only now starting to understand what that had cost him.

He hadn't realized that beneath the creepiness of a floating spark his friend was still the same femme she always was. When he saw that new body he realized part of him still cared about her and had entertained the hope of getting back together with her someday. Now that she was marrying Cosmos, he knew it was too late.


	18. Hounded

_Author's Notes: This chapter went through so many changes from the concept phase to the writing phase. This is honestly not even close to what I was originally going for. I think it turned out okay though. I hope it did anyway. Thank you all for reading this story. It is one of my more popular stories, and I always love expanding on this particular Transformers AU. Please review, favorite, and follow. It always makes me happy to hear from my readers :)_

* * *

Chapter 18

Hounded

It was a warm sunny day in the woods outside the Ark. Birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, and the sound of robotic footsteps could be heard as Hound led a nature walk with Daniel Witwicky, Video Error, and Phobia.

"Hey guys, I bet I can find more birds than you!" Playful Error taunted Daniel and Phobia as he raced to some nearby shrubbery.

"Okay, but remember you have to be quiet or the birds won't come out," Daniel reminded Video Error.

"Okay," Video Error replied as he started using his visor to record video footage of the animals he saw.

Phobia sometimes couldn't believe how mature Daniel already was. When she met him he was only 2 years old, but now he was already 7. For a Cybertronian that was nothing, but for a human it meant he went from being an incoherent troublemaker to being articulate and going to school. He could read almost as well as Phobia now! It still seemed a little surreal how quickly humans grew up.

"Hey Phobia, can I ask you something about Video Error?" Daniel inquired.

"Sure," Phobia replied.

"Well...what did they do to him?" Daniel asked, "The Decepticons, I mean. I didn't know him until two weeks ago, but everybody says the Decepticons hurt him real bad and he isn't how he used to be. What's different about him?"

"Well, there's... _more_ of him," Phobia replied uncertainly, "He used to just act like any other Cybertronian, but then Starscream cut up the coding in his brain, and now there's 5 of him. The most common ones to see are Normal Error, Anger Error, and Playful Error. Sometimes though he also turns into Crazy Error or Coward Error. He isn't too bad when he's normal or playful, but the other three can be really hard."

"Hard how?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Well, last week Optimus Prime came back to visit the base, and Crazy Error drew a mustache on his battle mask when he was asleep," Phobia explained, "I never should've let him play Super Mario Bros 3. It gave him ideas. Playful Error turned the target range into a room full of big green pipes with subspaces attached to them. Real live warp pipes! He's actually pretty smart, but only when he wants something. He never pays attention to his tutors."

"I wish I could have Autobot teachers in school," Daniel replied wistfully, "That must be so cool!"

"My new teacher is Kup," Phobia replied dejectedly, "He tells fun stories, but I'm in class with the Dinobots now. I miss Prowl. He was a good teacher. It felt like he was actually trying to make me learn things instead of just talking goofy at me. Kup thinks I'm stupid, and he treats me like a newspark! I'm not as dumb as the Dinobots! I want a real teacher!"

"I bet Hot Rod would be a good teacher," Daniel posited.

"Yeah right, he wouldn't even be a good _student_ ," Phobia pointed out, "Hey, where's Video Error? Wasn't he supposed to stay with the group?"

"Uh-oh…" Daniel said ominously, "Hey Hound, we can't find Video Error!"

Hound turned from the rotting log he was studying and looked at the little ones with alarm. He looked around the immediate area, but Video Error wasn't there. Finally, he found Video Error's pede tracks in the soil.

"Okay kids, let's track Video Error," Hound said calmly; trying not to scare the kids, "I'm sure he didn't wander off too far. We'll start by following his footprints... _and hope he didn't step in a river_ ," Hound muttered the last part to himself.

* * *

Video Error, meanwhile, was in Normal mode and trying to remember which way he came from. He didn't want to admit he was lost, and he didn't want to think about the danger lest his visor turn yellow and he become Coward Error again.

Video Error had a difficult time dealing with his mood shifts. It wasn't the same as having extreme emotions. He had always been a little moody, but this was like actually having multiple mechs inside of his body vying for dominance. He felt like _he_ was the real Video Error, but the problem was that the other 4 personalities were also Video Error. How could he say that he was more legitimate than all the others? If only the others could see reason, but then again he was the only Video Error capable of thinking clearly.

He tried to retrace his steps. He spread out his tentacles to try to gauge how far away the nearest energy signature was. He found one that was really close! It was small, so it was probably Phobia, and it was up in a tree. That made sense. Phobia loved to climb trees. He thought that was weird for a car-former, but then again her type did love the ground, and trees grow in the ground.

He turned into jet mode and flew up the tree, and then transformed back into robot mode to land. When he landed he looked, but instead of Phobia it was a black and yellow bird cassette!

"Hey, you're not Phobia!" Video Error shouted the obvious, "Who are you and what are you doing in the middle of nowhere?"

"Video Error? Is that you?" The bird asked in awe and joy, " _Video Error_! It's me! Buzzsaw! I'm so glad you're alright! Wait! Is Blaster nearby?"

"Do I know you?" Video Error asked dubiously.

"Do you know-? Video Error! What have those slagging Autobots _done_ to you?" Buzzsaw squawked worriedly, "It's me! I'm your brother! Don't worry, we'll get you home and everything will be just fine."

"I don't have a bird-brother," Video Error supposedly corrected him, "I do have a sister that has a bird form. Her name is Shriek. She was adopted, but I don't remember her ever not being there so it was probably before I was born."

Buzzsaw couldn't listen anymore. He couldn't stand Video Error spouting Autobot lies! He flew off, leaving Video Error looking up at the sky in confusion.

"Soundwave must be informed!" Buzzsaw said to himself as he opened a channel to the Decepticon base. Video Error was alone in the woods. They would never have a better opportunity to get him back!

* * *

It took about 20 minutes for Hound and the others to find Video Error. They had lost his trail where he took off in flight, and had called out for 10 minutes before he was willing to come out of the tree. Apparently while he was up there he had turned into Coward Error and was afraid they were bears disguised as Cybertronians. Now he was Anger Error, and Daniel was locked inside Hound's jeep alt mode while Phobia tried to calm Video Error down.

"I can't believe that stupid human!" Anger Error groused while Phobia watched him carefully, "Saying I have to have a pilot's license! What a load of slag! Oh, and that jet fuel they use! Humans are so _primitive_! _I hate them_! This whole planet can go rot in a stink fire!"

"Speaking of fuel, you're probably hungry!" Phobia took the feeble opening to change the subject, "Why don't we find a nice spot and have a picnic? Hound brought energon back from the base."

"Yeah, the same slag we guzzle every single orn!" Video Error shouted indignantly, "I want something else! Why can't we have coal energon? Or maybe oil energon? But _No_! We always have to have energon made from _electricity_! Do I look like a Prius? _Do I!?_ "

"You look kinda like a protoform, actually," Phobia shrugged, "Have you considered getting yourself repainted?"

Then Video Error's visor turned colors again, and it was light blue, indicating his playful side was back.

"Speaking of paint, why don't we play paintball when we get back to the Ark?" Video Error suggested, "Oh, and I found 10 birds! How many did you find?"

"Only 7. I guess you win," Phobia replied cheerfully; happy her friend was no longer trying to murder Daniel.

Daniel slowly got out of Hound's alt mode, and Hound transformed once the boy was clear. Hound led the sparklings and human child to a clearing for their picnic, and Video Error raced them to the spot where they were going to refuel.

Their picnic started off nice. Hound explained the different species of trees around them and the kids ate and drank contentedly. Daniel had sandwiches, Video Error had energon, and Phobia had Hound's leg.

After a few minutes, though, Video Error turned back into normal mode. When he did, he had a question he wanted to ask Phobia.

"Hey, Phobia? Are we related?" Video Error asked.

"No. Why do you ask?" Phobia inquired; her hands pressed into Hound's armor and sucking out his energy.

"Because we have similar colors," Video Error replied, "You mentioned paint. Well, I'm grey and black. You're a different shade of grey and a shinier black. We look kind of similar. Are you sure we aren't related?"

"My paint nanites are supposed to look this way," Phobia explained, "Yours aren't supposed to look like that. You had an accident a little over a month ago. You paint nanites were stripped right off your body. You're actually supposed to be dark blue and dark green."

"Dark green?" Video Error asked, "Does that mean I'm related to Hound?"

"No, Hound is just our friend," Daniel supplied.

Daniel continued to talk to Video Error, but Phobia had stopped listening. She was starting to feel bad for Video Error. She was also starting to get a little mad at Blaster. Video Error had amnesia, and it didn't seem fair to take advantage of his trust like that. She knew it was the only way to keep her friend, but she didn't know if it was worth it anymore. If she told him the truth he would hate her...well, the parts that were still capable of hate would, anyway.

Still, she felt guilty for going along with this for so long. He was Soundwave's son. He had a family history, culture, a parent, and siblings that he wasn't allowed to have access to. Phobia knew what it was like to be a blank slate with no family and no way to tell what you were supposed to be. She had found love and support with her daddy and the Autobots, but that was because her spark-family didn't want her. Video Error wasn't an orphan. He had a father that loved him and wanted him back.

"Hey kids, how about after this we go by Autobot City and say hello to the gang there for a while," Hound suggested jovially, "I'm sure Metroplex would be happy to have you come visit for a while."

"Cool!" Daniel exclaimed excitedly, "Can we visit Arcee, Hot Rod, and Blurr?"

"Sure, kiddo. Whatever you want," Hound replied with a warm smile, "Today is all about fun and adventure."

"Hooray!" Phobia cheered, her earlier moral dilemma forgotten.

"Can I touch the mounted cannons?" Video Error asked with muted anticipation.

"We'll have to ask, but personally I don't see why not," Hound replied.

Hound was about to transform to let the children inside his alt mode, but was stopped when laser fire hit him on the top of his helm! Hound was barely conscious, but unable to stand due to the direct shot to his processor. He saw Soundwave land, and every adult cassette was ejected from his tape deck!

"Well, well, well, look what we have here…" Rumble said tauntingly, "Good work, Vid. You caught an Autobot and one of their pet flesh creatures."

"What is he talking about?" Daniel asked Video Error.

"I don't know," Video Error replied; disturbed by the Decepticon's familiarity with him, "I don't…"

"Video Error: return," Soundwave ordered his son as he knelt down and held out his arms for the sparkling.

"What does he want?" Video Error asked in bland confusion.

"He wants you," Phobia replied; a tone of defeat clear in her voice.

"Hey, should we finish off this green jerk while we're here?" Frenzy asked as he got closer to Hound.

"No! Leave him alone!" Video Error exclaimed as he spread his body out to protect the injured Autobot.

"Please, Mr. Soundwave. This isn't Hound's fault! It's Blaster's!" Phobia shouted; her unspoken apprehension finally shining through.

"My Dad did something to cause them to attack us?" Video Error asked Phobia.

"Blaster: not Video Error's father," Soundwave replied; his voice reflecting no emotion but his spark angry at Blaster for taking his sparkling, "Soundwave: Video Error's father. Video Error: return."

Video Error's visor started to change again, and this time it turned purple for Crazy Error! Phobia gasped at this new development. It could not have come at a worse time. She suspected he did this so he wouldn't have to face the truth right away. It was too much for Video Error to handle.

Video Error went up to Daniel and picked him up with his tentacles! Daniel screamed since he didn't know what was going on. To be fair, no one knew what was going on. Video Error then took some tape out of subspace and taped Daniel to Hound; laughing maniacally the entire time. Then he ripped a small tree out of the ground and taped it between Daniel and Hound. He admired his work and clasped his hands in front his chassis in satisfaction.

"Uh...What did you just do?" Rumble asked in confusion.

"I made tree hungers!" Crazy Error exclaimed with glee, "If I just had a couple more Autobots I could make a traffic jam! Ha!"

"Laserbeak: deploy the gas," Soundwave commanded.

Laserbeak then flew over to where Video Error was dancing around the unconscious Hound and struggling Daniel. Laserbeak then released a knock out gas from his beak on both Video Error and Phobia!

"You think your gas will affect _me_?" Video Error challenged, "I'm gonna rock and roll all night! And party...every...pound cake... _whoosh_! I'm outta here!"

Video Error then passed out cold with a loud thud. Phobia tried to remain awake to protect Hound, but it was no use. She passed out as well, and Daniel could do nothing but watch helplessly as Soundwave grabbed both of them and flew off with his evil cassette minions. Daniel didn't know the rest of the story. All he saw was a Decepticon flying away with two Autobot prisoners.

Soundwave had accomplished his mission and more. Megatron had wanted the energon leech for his army, but to Soundwave that was merely a bonus. Video Error was finally coming home, and hopefully they would be able to find a cure for his personality shifts.


	19. Fathers

_Author's Notes: Hey guys! Believe it or not, I haven't stopped writing this fic. In fact I already have the whole story mapped out, I just haven't had time to get to it due to having a lot of fics to juggle. Anyway, this chapter has a lot to unpack. I like how it turned out for the most part. I don't want to give too much away, but a new plot point is lightly introduced... I hope you guys enjoy this latest installment of Custody Battle and review if you feel like it. Onward to sparkling adventures! :)_

* * *

Chapter 19

Fathers

Video Error and Phobia onlined at the same time, and found themselves in a very familiar medbay. Video Error's visor turned yellow and he screamed when he saw that they were in the Decepticon medbay! He didn't know the context of his memory of this place, but he remembered terror and pain. He knew this place was very bad, and he and Phobia were probably doomed.

Phobia saw his frightened reaction and started crying too. She didn't want to be trapped with the Decepticons. She knew Soundwave would protect Video Error, but the Decepticons would probably let Starscream rip out her processor or something else that was cruel. She knew how superstitious Decepticons were, and she knew that they saw her as a menace. She wouldn't get out of this alive.

Hook, the medic and one of the Constructicons, saw the pair of sparklings were awake now. He rushed over to Video Error since he was Soundwave's progeny and therefore top priority.

"Are you in any pain, little one?" Hook asked nicely as he leaned over the silver and black sparkling.

"No! Please go away! I don't want to be melted down into toothpaste!" Video Error screamed pathetically.

"Toothpaste?" Phobia asked from the other berth, "Where did _that_ come from?"

"I assure you Video Error that you are in no danger," Hook replied kindly to the little triple changer, "Soundwave has been very worried about you. You siblings have all been eager to see you. Shall I tell them you are ready for visitors?"

"My siblings are here?" Video Error asked hopefully, "Did Dad come to get me, too? Is Hound okay?"

"Hound?" The Constructicon asked obliviously.

"Oh, Video Error…" Phobia sighed sympathetically, "Blaster isn't here. Eject, Rewind and the others aren't here either."

"But he just said…!" Video Error squeaked; barely able to hold back his tears, "Why are they _doing_ this to us!? What's gonna happen, Phobia?"

Phobia didn't know what to say. She knew crying seemed overly emotional, but in reality this was probably the most coherent Coward Error had ever been. Video Error belonged with his real family, but he didn't remember them as anything other than the meanies that hurt Blaster and Hound. She needed to help him adjust. Maybe then the Decepticons would at least let them stay together.

"Well Video Error, it's actually something good," Phobia said hesitantly; hoping she could find the right words to help him, "Soundwave decided to adopt you. Now you're gonna be a Decepticon. Soundwave is really powerful, and Megatron trusts him more than anyone else. You'll be really safe with him."

Video Error's visor began to shift, and soon it had turned blue! Phobia had no idea what to expect from Playful Error now that the idea of being a Decepticon had been planted.

"Hey Phobia, wanna play hide from the seeker with a real seeker?" Video Error asked mischievously.

"Oh, no you don't," Hook intervened, "You are staying right there until your guardians come to get you."

"But I'm bored!" Video Error whined.

"Wait, guardians? As in two?" Phobia asked worriedly, "Can't I go wherever Video Error goes? I promise I'll be good."

"No, Megatron has ordered the Coneheads to see to your care and training," Hook replied disinterestedly, "If you have any potential then you will be upgraded."

"But I can't!" Phobia shouted worriedly, "I'm not old enough for an upgrade yet! I'm not ready! Please...I don't wanna die..."

"Aw, cheer up Phobia!" Video Error replied in too chipper a voice for the situation, "We can plug in a video game! Something really creepy to get the systems pumping! What do you say? Maybe then we can play tag! I bet my jet mode can catch your car mode easy!"

Phobia didn't look at Video Error. She was leaking coolant and didn't want him to see. He needed to be calm for Soundwave. He needed to integrate back into his family. She, on the other servo, didn't belong here. She wasn't a Decepticon and never could be. She wanted her daddy, and she wanted to be back in her closet berth room back at the Ark.

Another, scarier thought entered her processor as well. 5 years ago she had been entrusted with a large collection of static newsparks. Over half of them were unbuilt sparklings that belonged to her dead friend Honey Venom. The other half were Q-Boom's unbuilt newsparks. She had to feed them coding and energy every few weeks to keep them alive. If she wasn't there…

Phobia shook miserably and hoped she could find a way to get a message to Q-Boom. Q-Boom was the only other being in the universe that knew about those newsparks, and for the sake of the Sigma Sisters' pact, she had to keep it that way. This whole situation was a nightmare.

* * *

This was a nightmare! Stuck with the leech! Dirge and Thrust wouldn't leave their room, and Ramjet was starting to get really testy with them.

"We have to go pick up the kid!" Ramjet shouted caustically, "Get up, you lazy fraggers!"

"I'm not going anywhere near that thing!" Dirge exclaimed in fear, "I'm the one that ordered her to be killed! You know the stories about leeches. They stalk their enemies and exact revenge slowly and painfully. She'll hunt me down like a retro rat and suck out my vital fluids until I'm nothing but a husk! She'll crush my dead body like a paint can over her knee!"

"Yeah, well I was the one that said you should kill her yourself, but _no_!" Thrust groused, "You had to trust that goodie-goodie Autobot glitch to do it! You really thought Tearjerker gave a slag about what you wanted? Puh-lease!"

Dirge growled softly and ducked his helm further into his neck cables in displeasure. Thrust was right. He should've killed the newspark when he had the chance. Now it was under the protection of Megatron himself, and since everyone knew it belonged to Dirge his trine was going to be forced to raise it. This was one lousy orn.

"I'm bringing her in here whether you come or not," Ramjet threatened, "Now, are you coming or not?"

"I guess we have to," Thrust relented, and Dirge got up after him.

Fear was ever present in the dark blue Conehead's spark, but unexpectedly he was also flooded with memories of Tearjerker. Yes, he remembered that femme well. He had killed her sparkmate, and would have killed her as well except he felt capturing a large shuttle would show how powerful he was to other Decepticons. He expected to have his way with her once or twice and then kill her, but after a while he actually started to enjoy her company. She was quiet, obedient, and sometimes he could convince her to tell him stories of her old life as a smelter drone. Dirge was a rather macabre mech, and he loved the way Tearjerker looked, sounded, and even smelled like death. Despite How homely she looked to most, to him she was intoxicating.

Dirge sighed when he thought about her. Was she still alive? Was she happier without him? She would have to be. Dirge wasn't naive enough to believe she loved or even _liked_ him. He knew she felt nothing but fear and hatred in her spark for him. For some reason that didn't bother him. If he saw her again he would interface with her as if they had never parted. No matter where she was, she was still his. He looked forward to reminding her of that.

The Coneheads made it to the medbay, and saw that Video Error's visor was yellow. That was all they could see of him because he was hiding under the medical berth, and Hook and Phobia were both trying to coerce him to come out.

"This is ridiculous!" Hook pouted, "Get me a stick to poke him with!"

"No way, buster!" Phobia huffed defiantly, "He's just nervous. He'll come out when he's ready. Gee, I hope Soundwave still wants him. I don't want Video Error to get sent to a foundling home. Those places stink."

" _Ahem_!" Ramjet cleared his vocalizer to get their attention, "We're here for the brat. Megatron ordered us to get the leech."

Phobia backed up against the foot of the berth when she saw the Coneheads. They were huge, and they all looked mean. She had only seen them a couple times when the Decepticons would try to invade the Ark, and they were never friendly. Honey Venom had once said the blue one was a cannibal, and the red one liked to sniff feet. Phobia wasn't sure which was worse.

"Go on little femmeling, get out," Hook ordered curtly, "These gentlemechs are your new caretakers. You will obey them or suffer the consequences."

"Caretakers?" Phobia squeaked; remembering the brutish caretakers from her days in the foundling home.

"Wait!" Video Error shouted as he inched himself out of his hiding place, "You can't take Phobia! She's my friend! She's practically my sister!"

Phobia gasped in awe and pride when she saw Video Error. His visor was still yellow. He was still scared, but he was climbing out anyway. He was trying to protect her despite his fear. It was a moment of triumph, yet Video Error didn't even notice!

"We're not going to hurt Phobia," Dirge assured the little triple changer.

"Yeah, we're not allowed," Thrust sulked, "Megatron says we can't kill her unless she tries to kill us first."

"You almost sound like you _want_ me to try," Phobia noted as she crossed her arms over her chassis.

"No! I mean, um, no, we don't," Dirge stammered; trying to maintain his composure, "So, what was your name again?"

"Phobia. What's yours?" Phobia asked politely.

"I'm Ramjet," The titular Conehead spoke for his trine, "That's Thrust, and that's Dirge."

"Dirge?" Phobia asked curiously, "My files say my spark-father was named Dirge. That's funny. You have the same name as my spark-mom's customer."

"Customer?" Dirge asked; confused.

"Yeah, my mom was a pleasure bot, and a customer made her carry," Phobia explained as best as she could remember, "She didn't want me though, so she dumped me in a foundling home. It's okay though, because my daddy found me, and he's the bestest daddy in the whole universe!"

"No he's not!" Video Error contested, "He's weird and scary! My daddy is scary too, but he keeps me safe. Your daddy wants to hurt me!"

"No he doesn't," Phobia replied, no trace of anger in her voice; only sympathy, "He just doesn't like you. You see, he gets scared too. When Daddy gets scared, it makes him act crazy, just like it does to you. If he knew you, he'd like you."

"Who is your father?" Dirge interrupted the sparklings.

"Red Alert," Phobia replied timidly; still wary of the seekers, "Sirs, is there any way I can go home? I have a family already. I don't need a Decepticon family. I don't want to hurt things or steal energon or enslave organics. I like humans, and I like earth. Please, let me go."

"I wanna go home, too!" Video Error added; not realizing the irony of that statement, "I have 7 siblings and a dad who loves me! I have game systems and safe hiding places and toys. I don't wanna be a Decepticon either!"

The Coneheads were grateful they didn't have to deal with the amnesiac Video Error. Soundwave was going to have his servos full for a while. They decided to end the conversation by having Thrust pick up Phobia and then the four of them leaving the medbay. Phobia struggled awkwardly in Thrusts's grip, but it was no use. He was carrying her under his arm and there was no escape.

"So, um...who gets stuck with the first shift?" Thrust asked nervously when they made it back to their room.

"I'll do it," Dirge shrugged.

With those words Phobia was left in Dirge's care and the other two Coneheads left. She looked up at him with wide curious optics, and he looked back down at her with trepidation that was barely noticeable on his features.

"So...what training have the Autobots given you so far?" Dirge asked uncomfortably.

"I'm learning math from Kup," Phobia said as she kicked imaginary dust with her pede and looked down at the ground, "I was learning from Prowl, but he's been busy. He went back to Cybertron. I downloaded some reading courses, and Ratchet showed me some basic first aid stuff."

"Yeah? What about combat training?" Dirge inquired.

"No," Phobia replied, "I don't really wanna learn that stuff. Ironhide showed me how to shoot a gun once, but Daddy told me not to do that anymore. He's afraid I'll get hurt. I don't really wanna be a fighter. Maybe a medic or a security chief like my daddy."

"You really love your sire, huh?" Dirge asked to keep the conversation going.

"Uh-huh," Phobia nodded sadly, "Mr. Dirge, what do I have to do to be allowed to go home? I'll work, if that's what you want. I'll convince Video Error to love it here, if that will help. I'll even drain Dead End's energon again. I just want my daddy…"

Phobia's optics started to pool with streams of coolant again, but she didn't make any noise. She feared if she cried too much the Decepticons would get angry and hit her. The caretakers at her old foundling home had been Decepticons, and they hit her. Maybe all Decepticons were abusive to sparklings. How was she to know?

Dirge, meanwhile, was starting to lose his fear of the little leech. As he looked at her a few different thoughts whirled through his processor. The first was that she would be very compliant if she thought she would be allowed to return to the Autobots someday if she obeyed. The other thought was that he didn't want to do that. He actually felt guilty that the little femme was forced away from a loving home. There were so few mechs in the universe that would lovingly care for a leech.

The third thought, and one he couldn't believe was only just hitting him, was that this little sparkling was _his_ daughter. This little creature had been made by him and his concubine Tearjerker. Despite her obvious drawbacks, Phobia was actually kind of cute. She was also well behaved and caring. Definitely Autobot-sparked. There was no way he could make a Decepticon warrior out of something so innocent, and at this point he didn't want to.

* * *

Blaster and Red Alert were beside themselves. Their sparklings had been captured! The one bit of good news in this whole ordeal was that Hound was going to recover from his injuries just fine. Everyone was grateful, because lately it seemed the Decepticons were out for blood.

Several Autobots were searching for the sparklings. Some of them were out there canvassing the area. Others were at monitors trying to get a fix on their location. Ever since the 'Cons completed work on the Nemesis 2 they were nearly impossible to locate. Their new ship could fly, so it was constantly on the move.

Ultra Magnus and Arcee were at the main console when a message came through. At first they thought it was Megatron calling to gloat or make demands, but the address originated from a space station orbiting Cybertron.

Arcee answered it, and the face on the other end of the screen belonged to a femme with a white face, yellow optics, and a helm with oblong animal ears.

"Please identify yourself," Arcee requested.

"You are not who I am calling for," The other femme replied in a feminine monotone, "I wish to speak to...Ratchet."

Arcee arched an optic ridge. Something seemed very off about this femme. For one, the only ones with animal forms were either the Dinobots, the Insecticons, or the Predacons. Considering this femme was on Cybertron, she had to be one of Shockwave's new Predacon experiments.

"We're very busy here," Ultra Magnus cut in, "You'll have to call back later."

"I can wait," the femme replied, "But you cannot. Where is he?"

"He's not here," Ultra Magnus replied vaguely, "You can leave your message with me. What do you want to tell him?"

"I want to tell him...goodbye," the femme said; searching for the right words, "I want to tell so many of them...Ironhide will be very brave. The Insecticons and seekers will be punished for their hubris. Don't leave the door open or your friends will catch a draft. By the way, Wheeljack might not have a face, but I'm pretty sure he still wants to keep it."

"What the pit are you talking about?" Ultra Magnus asked the strange monotone femme.

"The matrix doesn't like you," the femme replied as her optics narrowed on Ultra Magnus, "Nobody does. Oh, well. At least your name won't be stolen. Tell me when I can say goodbye to them. My sun set long ago. Now it's your turn. That's all I can say. Goodbye."

The femme hung up before either one of them could ask anymore questions. They were left staring at a black screen wondering what the frag just happened.

* * *

It was later that night when Red Alert received a comm signal. Normally he would be in recharge at this hour, but with Phobia missing he couldn't sleep. He had combed over every stray energy signal in the desperate hope he would find his daughter. He couldn't believe Blaster was lumping himself into the same grieving father category as him! Blaster stole a sparkling from a Decepticon and had it for a little while. Red Alert had adopted his daughter legally and had spent 5 precious years with her! How dare Blaster compare himself to him!

He was sure the comm was probably Blaster or Inferno wanting to talk, but when he answered it he was in for a shock.

/Red Alert,/ a deep yet hollow voice said from the comm, /This is Dirge. I have Phobia with me, and I'm willing to give her back. Come alone. I'm on the other side of the mountain./

/What do you want in exchange for her?/ Red Alert demanded to know.

/Nothing. I just don't want her anymore,/ Dirge replied casually, /She's getting cold. Actually, so am I. Hurry up and take her back!/

Red Alert knew this was a trap. He could smell a trap from a mile away. Unfortunately for him, this information changed nothing. His daughter was still there and he still wanted her back. He was at the Decepticon's mercy. He had to go.

Red Alert left a note on a data pad explaining to Inferno what happened just in case something went wrong. He knew he should comm Inferno (and several others) but he was afraid if he spooked Dirge that the Coneheads would hurt Phobia. He had to face this alone.

He drove to the spot on the other side of the mountain where the comm came from, and was surprised to see Dirge was there alone with Phobia on his lap. Dirge didn't hold Phobia, and actually seemed nervous about the sparkling touching him, but she didn't look hurt and that was what mattered.

Red Alert transformed and stared down the other mech.

"Give me back my sparkling!" Red Alert shouted angrily.

"That's why I'm here," Dirge shrugged; unaffected by Red's tone, "Go on kid. Go to him."

"Daddy!" Phobia shouted jubilantly as she ran to Red Alert with her arms outstretched and ready for a hug.

Red Alert ran to meet his sparkling, and they embraced as soon as they made it to each other! Red Alert squeezed her tightly and for that moment nothing else in the universe existed. It was just him and his daughter together again.

When Red Alert looked again Dirge was already gone. He didn't know how he missed the sound of a jet engine taking off, but he did.

Dirge went back to the Nemesis 2 knowing what he did was a mistake. He would get in a lot of trouble for this one, but at the same time he couldn't help himself. She had gotten to him. Part of him was jealous of Red Alert. How could that screwball be a better father than him? Oh well. At least his daughter was happy and not sucking out his vital fluids like a spider does to a fly


	20. Begin Anew

_Author's Notes: Well, things really start happening here, but this is only the beginning! Well, technically it's the middle since we're in chapter 20, but I wrote this so I'm allowed to be dramatic! Anyway, I think this chapter turned out okay, but there was actually even more I wanted to add. I just decided to stop here so I could get this out before next year! LOL! Anyway, thank you guys so much for supporting this story, and I hope you'll review, favorite, and follow to see more sparkling adventures :)_

* * *

Chapter 20

Begin Anew

Video Error was having a moment of clarity, but his life still didn't make sense. Why were the Decepticons keeping him here? He didn't understand why this Soundwave guy was keeping him from his Autobot family. He honestly would have expected them to just kill him, but instead they seemed determined to convince him he was one of them. Well, he wasn't about to fall for that one!

"Hey, Video Error," Rumble greeted him when the cassettes all came into the medbay to see him, "We brought you energon."

Video Error had been released from the medbay once before, but when he turned into Crazy Error he started running like a lunatic, painting mustaches on different mechs' face plates, and shoving his own digits into the electric pencil sharpeners. That last one was the reason he was in the medbay at that moment.

"Hey big bro!" Solarflare called out to him with forced cheerfulness, "Glad to see your visor isn't purple anymore. You were acting weird."

"You're the ones who are acting weird," Video Error replied sourly, "Why won't you let me go home to my family? What did I ever do to you?"

" _We're_ your family, slag head!" Solarflare snapped; frustrated that her older brother didn't recognize her or the others, "Freezeframe, do something! Fix him! Fix him now!"

"You know I am not capable of that," Freezeframe replied stoically, "Video Error, I know you think we are the enemy, but we're not. We are your siblings. You have suffered processor damage. I'm sure Dad will figure out how to repair you."

The visor shifted to an almost predictable yellow, and Video Error screamed and ran toward the locked medbay door.

"Let me out! Let me _out_! I don't want to be fixed by Soundwave!" Video Error pleaded as he banged on the door vehemently, "You won't operate on me! _Please_ , let me out!"

"Make him stop!" Solarflare shouted as she pressed her hands to her audio sensors, "He's so loud! What happened to him?"

"This has already been explained to us," Ravage reminded her, "Video Error has split personalities now. That yellow visor indicates pure distilled fear. Trying to make him less afraid won't work. Trying to scare him further only causes internal damage. We simply have to wait for him to change again."

"I hate Starscream!" Solarflare declared, "And I hate the Autobots! They logic-wiped him! I hope whatever the grown ups figure out works."

"As do I, Solarflare," Freezeframe nodded solemnly, "As do I."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Constructicons' lab, Megatron was discussing the plan for dealing with Video Error with Soundwave, the Constructicons, and Starscream. Megatron would've preferred if he could've shoved Starscream into a smelter, but since the red and silver seeker was the only one who knew how the personalities split in the first place, they needed his help to reverse the process.

"...and from there I separated the different personality components into these files over here," Starscream explained to the Constructicons, "From there I had planned to delete the components that would interfere with him being the ideal soldier, but unfortunately something went wrong."

"Starscream's negligence: inexcusable," Soundwave said with uncharacteristic bitterness.

Megatron quirked an optic ridge, but didn't say a word about his TIC's unusual behavior. Soundwave rarely spoke unless spoken to. He also rarely told anyone his true feelings about other mechs. Even his own creations never heard Soundwave say he loved them! To see Soundwave so angry at Starscream, however subdued the reaction might seem, was a bit alarming.

"It wasn't negligence!" Starscream shouted; his pride as a scientist wounded, "Just give me time and I can still perfect the procedure! Megatron, I can still make Video Error the perfect warrior!"

"No!" Megatron snapped at his SIC, "I've had it up to here with your experiments, Starscream. Video Error already had the perfect coding for a warrior, thanks to _Shockwave_ I might add, but you had to tamper with forces you didn't understand, and now we might never get back the sparkling! Hook, what does you investigation show?"

"Video Error's memory files were wiped clean, Lord Megatron," Hook replied soberly, "It is not a simple case of amnesia or repressed memories. He maintained very little of his old life, and whatever was lost can never be recovered. He remembers Skywarp's cruelty toward him. He also seems to have a distaste for the Autobot called Ironhide. He vaguely remembers Starscream hurting him, and he knows his split personalities are not normal. Other than that, his memory begins with the Autobots taking him away from here."

"And now he believes he's an Autobot," Megatron growled lowly, "This cannot stand! Video Error is a Decepticon, and he must be made to realize this."

"I have a plan!" Scavenger spoke up from his place in the corner of the room, "What if we just erase Video Error's memories again? He'll be a clean slate, and Soundwave can reintroduce him to his family without any of that Autobot stuff clouding his mind. It's a very simple procedure."

"And virtually p-p-painless," Mixmaster added eagerly.

"I know," Megatron replied. He had actually used the procedure on the Constructicons to trick them into thinking they were Decepticons during the early days of the war. He found it ironic that they would suggest doing the same thing to the sparkling without even realizing their own history with the device.

"Soundwave, bring me the sparkling," Megatron ordered, "We will erase everything, and you will have your son back."

"Wait!" Scrapper interjected, "What about the split personalities? How are we going to fix that?"

"Starscream caused this problem. He can fix it," Megatron replied smugly.

Starscream scowled, but for once he didn't object to Megatron's orders. If he had his way he would perform the original experiment, but since he couldn't do that at least having a chance to research the phenomenon would prove scientifically significant.

Soundwave waited for the meeting to be dismissed before going to get Video Error. He was nervous for his sparkling, that was true, but he would obey Megatron's orders nonetheless. Hopefully this plan would work, and he could start over with his son. At least Blaster wouldn't be able to corrupt his sparklings anymore.

* * *

Autobot City was abuzz with activity. It was nighttime, and the stars littered the sky like a thousand grains of glittering sand. The Autobots were happy, because tonight was the bonding ceremony between Cosmos and Q-Boom.

Wheeljack was excited to see his little femme in her new body for the first time. No one had seen her yet, and the first time they would was when she flew down to meet Cosmos and perform the ancient bonding ceremony with him. Ratchet was their initiator since Wheeljack felt too overcome with emotion to do it himself. He just hoped Ratchet kept his hands steady. It was a delicate procedure.

Spike and Carly came with their young son Daniel. They sat with Bumblebee and Hot Rod and watched as Blaster helped Cosmos polish the back of his frame. Cosmos looked jittery yet excited, and it was difficult for Blaster to get him to hold still.

"I just love weddings," Carly gushed, "It'll be interesting to see how Cybertronians deal with these kinds of ceremonies."

"Hey Hot Rod, will Q-Boom wear a white dress?" Daniel asked curiously.

"A what?" Hot Rod asked; not understanding the concept.

Poor Hot Rod was still new to earth, and he didn't always understand the terminology. Carly couldn't help but giggle at the thought of a giant seeker wearing a wedding gown and veil while holding flowers.

"So, what kind of ceremony will Ratchet give them?" Spike asked Bumblebee, "Does he have to read from a data pad, or does he have the vows memorized?"

"Um, I don't think you have the right idea, Spike," Bumblebee replied as gently as he could, "Ratchet is their medic. He's going to perform the bonding operation on them."

"Operation? You mean _surgery_?" Spike asked incredulously, "They're going to have surgery in front of all these people?"

"Well, sort of," Bumblebee replied hesitantly, "Cosmos and Q-Boom will meet in front of the crowd, and then Ratchet will carefully remove their laser cores. Once their sparks are exposed, they will embrace each other and their sparks will touch; thus bonding their sparks to each other forever. Ratchet will have to work fast, because Cosmos's spark won't last more than a few minutes without the protective chamber. The entire thing should only last a few minutes, and then we can get to the bonding feast. We made sure to include lots of human food so everyone can join in on the fun."

Spike and Carly smiled at Bumblebee, but Daniel held a quizzical look on his face as he tried to imagine what the wedding would look like. He wondered if Ratchet would throw a ceremonial wrench at their heads.

* * *

Meanwhile, Q-Boom was in the workshop polishing her cockpit to make the glass shine brighter. Phobia was with her as well, but Q-Boom noticed the little leech wasn't her usual perky self. Something was making the little sparkling very sad.

"Yo Pheebs, you think I need to wash the bottom of my pedes?" Q-Boom asked in an attempt to start conversation, "I don't want to, but this is my bondin' day. I guess I should try to put in a little effort, huh?"

Phobia said nothing in reply. She just continued to stare at the ground from her seat.

"I was also thinking about gettin' a glyph engraved on my arm," Q-Boom continued the one-sided conversation, "I know tattoos don't exactly scream _Autobot_ , but I want Cosmos's name on my arm. Maybe a picture of a flaming Autobot sigil on the other arm. I don't know. Does that sound pro or anti Autobot?"

"You smoke. Why do you care what the Autobots do?" Phobia asked bitterly.

"What I don't…! Okay, so I smoke. How'd you find out?" Q-Boom sputtered, but then gave up and admitted it.

"I found the pack of enerjolts under your recharge slab," Phobia replied, "You've only had your new body a day and you're already _smoking_? I knew you smoked at the foundling home, but I thought 5 years without a body would make the craving go away."

"I didn't actually smoke at the foundlin' home," Q-Boom explained, "I traded the enerjolts for things we needed. Listen Phobia...I didn't wanna scare you, but I'm gettin' older, and as a seeker...If a seeker doesn't trine, they get processor glitches. You know, things like gettin' angry at everythin', seein' things that aren't there, and sometimes even becomin' violent and abusive. Enerjolts aren't good for you, I know that, but they calm me down. I'm never gonna find a trine, so I need them. I hope you understand."

"Does Cosmos know?" Phobia asked.

"Yeah, we talked about it," Q-Boom replied sorrowfully as she wiped a rag over her knees, "He's worried about me, but he understands. He's a good mech, Phobia. I don't deserve him, but I wouldn't trade anythin' for him. Now, are you gonna tell me what's really been botherin' you?"

"It's Video Error. I miss him," Phobia confided, "I know he's where he needs to be, but I'm still sad. I don't want to be his enemy. Why couldn't Soundwave join the Autobots and let his sparklings grow up happy? Why do they have to serve a cruel master like Megatron? _Why_?"

"Hey, Cadaver-Mobile, remember how we used to be?" Q-Boom reminded her, "The only reason we don't have red optics and wear purple sigils now is because we got adopted by good fathers who love us. Video Error's father is Soundwave, and Soundwave is a Decepticon."

"But _why_?" Phobia whined helplessly, "I'm sure Optimus Prime would take him if he just asked! He would be a good Autobot!"

"Phobia, remember Terrabyte?" Q-Boom asked softly as she sat next to Phobia and placed a comforting servo on her arm, "Terrabyte formed a loyalty bond with Honey Venom because carriers need a master to feel close to. That bond caused Terrabyte to ignore every survival instinct she had and die rather than leave Honey Venom behind. It was stupid of her, but she couldn't override that code. Well, Soundwave has that same bond with Megatron. Nothin' will ever come before Megatron in Soundwave's spark. Not even his own sparklings. They'll never be like us. They'll never be Autobots."

Phobia sighed miserably. This talk didn't help at all. If anything it just solidified that maybe she didn't do the right thing. She just couldn't ignore the fact that Video Error had a father who loved him and wanted him back. Phobia couldn't trick her best friend into staying where he didn't belong...even if it meant losing him forever.

"Come on, Pheebs," Q-Boom motioned for her to follow her out the door, "I've got a mech waitin' for me out there. Hey, do you want me to let you have the first servin' of cobalt infused energon? The bride always gets dibs, and I have a spare spot on my arm for you to feed off of."

Phobia smiled slightly at that. As sad as she was, her favorite energon flavor did sound good, and it would be cool to sit with the bride and groom at their table. She just hoped her daddy didn't mind if she spent some time with Q-Boom instead of him for a while. Q-Boom smirked, knowing that distraction was the best cure for an upset sparkling.

* * *

The ceremony had been quick as Bumblebee had told Spike it would be. Q-Boom and Cosmos held hands and smiled as Ratchet organized his tools. Then, in front of their closest friends and relatives, they opened their chassis to allow Ratchet to work on them, and then their sparks merged for a few precious seconds to join them together. The new couple seemed to glow after the operation was over; most likely due to the leftover energy from their sparks colliding.

After the ceremony was over everyone went over to an outdoor display of energon and human food for the feast. Cosmos and Q-Boom had both wanted their ceremony outside among the stars because their home was in space and the stars made them feel more comfortable. It was the one place where Q-Boom could never miss flying, because she was floating instead.

Q-Boom and Cosmos took their seat at the couple's table, and Q-Boom let Phobia sit on her lap and suck the energon from her plating. Phobia could taste all the fancy flavors Q-Boom had consumed, and she slowly drifted off into recharge.

The Dinobots soon approached the couple, and Cosmos tried not to look nervous to speak to his new brothers-in-law. He knew this was coming, but he still didn't quite know what they thought of all this. The fact that they were all in Dino-mode did nothing to make him feel better.

"Hey, you Q-Boom look awesome!" Slag commented as he took in the sight of her spiky and rough-textured body, "Good for kicking Decepticon butt!"

"Me Grimlock want to say congratulations," Grimlock said loudly as he eyed the couple, "So, now you bonded. You Q-Boom and him Cosmos are coming to live with us on Cybertron, right?"

"Nah, stayin' in one location seems like a waste of time," Q-Boom replied nonchalantly, "We're gonna stay up in space, but I'll come visit you as often as I can. By the way, has everyone been treatin' you okay up there?"

"Them Autobots think us Dinobots stupid!" Swoop griped before Grimlock could answer, "They no let me Swoop in the medbay like them Autobots did here on earth. Why not? Me Swoop am great medic!"

"Yeah, those slag heads wouldn't know talent if it bit them in the transistors," Q-Boom groused sympathetically.

Their conversation was interrupted when Wheeljack came over to congratulate the couple himself. The Dinobots stuck around, but they knew better than to interrupt Wheeljack. He was one of the few Autobots that genuinely liked them.

"Q-Boom, Cosmos, I am so happy for you both," Wheeljack gushed as he handed Q-Boom a large box with foil wrapping, "I got you something for your new lives together. I hope you like it."

"As long as it's not a book on STDs, I love it," Q-Boom replied, "Seriously, that's what Prowl got me. The guy has no sense of class."

Q-Boom opened the gift, but was confused by the motley invention that was inside the box. She had never seen this one before, so she didn't know what it did.

"It's a plate maker!" Wheeljack beamed, "You just stick scrap metal inside, and it makes new armor plating. It's very user-friendly. You just type in the color, type, and density into this keypad and the plate maker assembles it for you. Now if you can't get to a medic from where you are in space, you'll have a way to make repairs."

"Wow, I love it!" Q-Boom exclaimed happily.

"This is very generous, Wheeljack," Cosmos replied humbly, "I am so happy to be a part of this crazy wonderful family. I only wish I had something to give you."

"No need. You're the groom, remember?" Wheeljack replied jovially at his new son-in-law.

"Hey Pop, could you take Phobia back over to Red Alert?" Q-Boom asked, "She fell asleep on my lap, but I wanna get up so Cosmos and I can dance. Blaster promised some killer tunes."

"Sure thing, sweet spark," Wheeljack replied and then gently scooped up the sleepy sparkling.

The Dinobots followed Wheeljack away, and Q-Boom finally had a moment alone with her new bondmate. She chuckled and leaned into his frame, overjoyed at the occasion and the start of the rest of their lives together. Judging from the goofy grin Cosmos was wearing, he felt the same way.

The Autobots were losing the war. The Decepticons had become a terrible force that constantly invaded their lives and consumed their thoughts. For this night, however, the Autobots on earth could be happy as two of their own found something to make them happy. The party lasted well into the night and didn't end until the sun rose in the sky, when the couple finally flew away to join the stars again.

* * *

Video Error was led into the lab by Soundwave. He was in red visor mode, so his body didn't feel fear, but he still understood that what was happening was very bad. He didn't know what Soundwave was planning, but the blue and white mech's silence spoke volumes. Something was going on.

He was also concerned for Phobia's safety. He didn't know Dirge had freed her. In fact, not even Megatron knew of what the dark blue Conehead had done. For all Video Error knew Phobia was dead or being horribly tortured, or worse, effectively tortured! She might not have been family, but she was probably the only real friend he had. What if he never saw her again?

Soundwave led the sparkling into a room with a cylinder-shaped device with tentacles like his own. Megatron was there, as was the green and purple medic...Hook was his name, if Video Error remembered correctly.

"Ah, Video Error. So good of you to join us," Megatron said with a friendly smile that didn't fool the triple changer for a second, "Why don't you have a seat?"

Megatron gestured to a chair with restraints, and Video Error immediately tried to make a break for it, but was quickly caught by Soundwave. Video Error struggled in his father's grip, but it was no use. Soundwave was much stronger than the sparkling, and there was no escape for Video Error.

Soundwave carefully strapped in the youngling's arms, legs, and tentacles. He didn't want to hurt his son, even if the boy was fighting him. Wiping the boy's processor of all current memories wasn't Soundwave's first option, but it was all they had left. Soon his son would be free of the Autobots, and hopefully whole again.

"Are you comfortable, mechling?" Megatron asked; smirking at the feeble struggles of the little 'Con, "Hook, throw the switch!"

Hook activated a few toggles and buttons on the brain-wiping device, and soon the tentacles were snaking toward Video Error!

"No! Let me go!" Video Error cried out, and then his visor turned orange, "I said _let me go you fraggers_! Don't make me come over there and kick your aft!"

"Spirited, isn't he?" Hook commented.

Soundwave hated to see his own creation suffer, but he knew this was for his own good. Soon everything would be fine.

The visor shifted again, and the purple color indicated Crazy Error made an appearance.

"Hey Doc Bot, what's with the chromium calamari?" Video Error quipped as the device inched closer, "Hey, you know what that machine needs? Ketchup! Yeah, let's dump ketchup all over it, and glue it to Skywarp's back! He'll look just like a monster in a horror movie! Hey, just let me out and we can beat up Starscream together! That sounds like fun, right guys?"

Then the machine connected to Video Error's medical port behind his neck cables, and as the processor was wiped his visor began to shift every few seconds!

" _Stop! Please_!" Coward Error begged, "I don't know what game this is, but it isn't fun!" Playful Error griped, "You slaggers are asking for it!" Anger Error cried out, "Spoons and forks are my friends!" Crazy Error exclaimed with a goofy grin, "I'm sorry...I tried, but I failed. Forgive me...Dad...Phobia...Autobuh-..." Normal Error slurred his words as the machine took full control over his processor.

The device took several minutes to completely delete his memories. Soundwave was by his master's side, unwilling to approach any closer to his ailing son. He knew Video Error was confused and in pain, but he also knew he had to keep his distance lest the device come after him next. All he could do was wait.

After the process was over Hook deactivated the machine. Soundwave and Megatron approached to see if their operation was successful. Video Error's visor shone a dim red, and he looked up at the pair of mechs in a daze.

"Who...who are you? What's my name?" Video Error asked numbly.

"Designation: Video Error," Soundwave explained, "I am your sire and superior officer, Soundwave. This is Lord Megatron. We have sworn our loyalty to Lord Megatron. You are in training to serve as an elite soldier of the Decepticons."

"You're my dad?" Video Error asked for clarification.

"Affirmative," Soundwave replied; his tone betraying nothing of the joy in his spark, "Video Error: follow me. Recharge: necessary."

"Yes, sir," Video Error nodded as Soundwave removed his restraints.

Megatron smiled in triumph. This had gone even better than he expected...or so he thought. Video Error went to take Soundwave's hand, but then his visor began to shift, and soon it had turned purple! Crazy Error then jumped up onto Soundwave shoulders and opened his tape deck!

"Wow, this guy really _is_ playing with a full deck!" Video Error remarked as he eyed the cassettes, "Too bad I'm not!"

Video Error cackled as he threw his siblings out of the tape deck; some falling to the floor in cassette mode and others transforming in the knick of time! Several minicons scowled at Video Error as he proceeded to laugh and crawl inside Soundwave's tape deck despite not being a cassette.

"Hey look, I'm in an Easy Bake Oven!" Video Error said as he poked his helm out of the cramped compartment, "Quick, set me to 350 and get some tabasco sauce!"

Hook openly gaped at the whacky sparkling, and Solarflare, Rumble, and Frenzy started laughing at their insane brother's antics. Megatron growled low and glared at the scene. If they were going to repair this thing's multiple personalities, then they would have to think of something immediately.


	21. Bonding

_Author's Notes: I'll admit, despite my extensive notes on this story, this chapter was mostly improv'ed. As it turns out I think this is actually important for how the rest of the story will play out. Hopefully this chapter turned out okay. I wanted it to be longer, but I don't want to type too much or for too long. I dislocated my shoulder last Saturday and even though it's healing pretty quickly I still probably shouldn't push it too hard. Also, an interesting side note, as of this update this fic is the second most viewed story I have ever had on this site! The most viewed is actually its predecessor "You Will Care For Me". Thank you guys so much for supporting this story and its wider universe! Please review, favorite, and follow to see what happens next on "Custody Battle"! :)_

* * *

Chapter 21

Bonding

Soundwave had some time off work, so he decided to sit in his favorite chair in his room and watch the sparklings play. Solarflare and Freezeframe had been disheartened by Video Error's lack of recognition of them and different personalities. He wasn't the big brother they remembered, but they were trying to forge a new relationship with him despite the difficulties. Even his paint was different. It was a stripped grey and black instead of his usual blue and green. When asked about it though Video Error insisted he wanted to keep his new look, but it just cemented to the other sparklings that he wasn't the same person anymore.

At the moment Video Error was in Crazy mode listening to zydeco music and dancing like a monkey with his brother and sister. Freezeframe wasn't a very good dancer since he didn't like to make a fool of himself, but not looking foolish simply wasn't an option when Crazy Error was around.

"Hey guys, I think another song is coming on!" Crazy Error exclaimed as he hopped up and down and bobbed his helm.

"How can you tell?" Solarflare asked, "I'm beginning to think the zydeco genre is just one big song on an endless loop! Change it to something else!"

Freezeframe was only too happy to comply, so he changed it to a Russian pop station. It was a song talking about how great their leader was, but for all Crazy Error cared they could've been talking about jellybean sandwiches. He just wanted to dance.

"You know guys, this kind of thing could be helpful to the Decepticons," Solarflare pointed out after the song ended.

"What thing?" Freezeframe asked.

"A song that glorifies Megatron and the Decepticon cause," Solarflare explained, "It might convince some neutrals to join our side!"

"I remember trying to make a commercial with you a few weeks ago," Freezeframe replied flatly, "It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience."

Video Error's visor then shifted to yellow, and Solarflare actually facepalmed when she saw Coward Error making another appearance. It seemed like that personality was one of his dominant ones.

"Commercials are unpleasant?" Coward Error squeaked nervously, "Why? Do they logic-wipe you? Is the TV _watching_ _us_? Who is trying to kill us!?"

Freezeframe sighed, and Solarflare growled. They didn't want to play with Coward Error. All he did was run, scream, and hide. Soundwave saw his son was frightened and tried to send a wave of comfort through the bond, only to realize something horrible. There _was_ _no bond_. Apparently when Starscream separated Video Error's personalities it ripped apart the bond Soundwave shared with his sparkling! Well, they would just have to reinstate their severed bond immediately.

"Video Error," Soundwave called to his sparkling.

Video Error's visor shifted to red, and Soundwave was grateful he would be able to talk to his son's rational side. Video Error walked up to Soundwave and stood at perfect attention in front of his father. Soundwave found this behavior curious, but not unwelcome. It reminded him of Ravage and Laserbeak.

"Video Error, the guardian bond must be reinstated," Soundwave ordered his son.

"Guardian bond?" Video Error asked, "I don't know what that is."

"The guardian bond is a link between host and sparkling that creates a virtual emotional presence within the spark," Soundwave explained, "Now, reach out to me with your spark."

Video Error looked at him quizzically and cocked his helm to one side. Soundwave didn't know what was confusing Video Error about this process. A sparkling reaching out to their parent for support was as natural to a Cybertronian as refueling or recharging. It was a necessary part of sparklinghood.

"I don't think I will do that, sir," Video Error replied stoically, "You said that I am being trained to be a soldier, and that you were my superior officer. If it is all the same to you sir, I would like to keep this relationship professional."

"Are you some kind of _slagging moron_!?" Solarflare shouted furiously, "That's our _sire_ , you dunce! Unless you want to spend the rest of your life alone and unable to feel love you need to bond with him!"

"Actually, I'm not afraid of being alone," Video Error replied calmly, "I don't feel like I need a father. What I need is training, and Soundwave is the perfect mech for that job. I respect him, but I don't love him," Video Error then turned to Soundwave and said "Awaiting your orders, sir."

Solarflare had bug-optics and a slack jaw as she stared at her brother. Freezeframe was used to not showing his emotions, but even he would never say he didn't need his father's love. Every sparkling felt the need for a bond! He had heard of orphans bonding with mechs that actively abused them just to keep from feeling cold and alone. What had Starscream done to Video Error to make him this way?

* * *

Since training was the only activity Video Error seemed interested in participating in with Soundwave, then Soundwave decided that a Scavenger Hunt would make for good reconnaissance training. Of course, when Soundwave said it was a Scavenger Hunt, he meant it in the most literal way possible.

Solarflare, Freezeframe, and Video Error split up in search of Scavenger, the Constructicon backhoe, in the hopes of learning crucial information that would lead to his "capture".

Video Error was in Playful mode, so he was really getting into the spirit of the game. Whichever sparkling won would get to go on a super secret mission with Soundwave. Video Error wanted to win, not for the prize itself, but just so he could run it in the faces of those who were apparently his siblings. He didn't disbelieve their story about them being his family, but he also didn't feel like he needed a family. He only needed to be the best Decepticon he could be so his survival would be guaranteed. Besides that, he really wanted to impress Megatron. It was clear Megatron was in charge, and Video Error knew being on his good side meant getting away with more mischief.

Video Error slunk around corridors and used his tentacles as extra sensors. He was ready for anything. Well, he was until he heard a loud crashing sound coming from one of the private quarters.

Video's Error's visor shifted to red, and he decided he wanted to investigate the noise in case it was trouble. Someone sounded like they were in pain, and Video Error wanted to save whoever it was. Why he wanted to save them, he didn't know, but a piece of him said it was the right thing to do.

He got down on his hands and knees to look through the tiny crack in the closed door. He could only see two pairs of feet, but he recognized the owners of those feet immediately. The silver and red pedes belonged to his master, Megatron, and the blue thrusters belonged to Starscream, the scary second in command.

"The seekers are your responsibility!" Megatron shouted before throwing Starscream against the wall, "You couldn't keep your optic on them for _one breem_!"

Video Error was shocked when he saw the way Megatron savagely beat his highest ranking follower. The sparkling didn't have a lot of memories to draw from, and he wasn't used to the idea of Starscream being the fall guy for Megatron's foul moods. The sparkling's visor shifted to yellow, and he huddled into a far corner of the hallway and covered his audio sensors in an attempt to make the sounds of Starscream's torment go away.

After several minutes the door opened, and Starscream limped out; battered and broken. Megatron remained inside, and the logical side of Video Error whispered to Coward Error that this must be Megatron's room. Coward Error wasn't listening to himself, however. He just wanted to make the world stop.

Starscream was going to go in the opposite direction from the dead end hallway, but then he saw Video Error hugging his knees and whimpering like a puppy that had just been kicked out of the house. He considered ignoring the sparkling, but since this little monster was going to be his experiment he decided that he might as well try to earn its trust.

When Starscream approached the sparkling, Video Error tried to scoot away, but there was nowhere to go. He shook and waited for whatever bad things the big scary mech had planned for him, wishing with all his might he could be brave enough to make him go away.

"Calm down, Video Error. I'm not going to hurt you," Starscream said in a tone he hoped was reassuring, "I'm guessing you can't help but be scared. Well, if I had my way you would never feel fear again. Fear isn't useful."

"Thank you," Video Error replied; thinking the seeker was trying to be kind, "Starscream, why did Lord Megatron hurt you?"

"You saw that, huh?" Starscream shrugged, "One of the troops I command lost something that Megatron considered very important. A prisoner we were hoping to convert to our side. He punished me because I couldn't...because I didn't...because he felt like it, I guess."

"Are you scared he'll come back to get you?" Video Error asked in a hushed tone as he looked with a wide visor at the seeker.

"He always comes back for me," Starscream replied bitterly, "No one is safe from Megatron, and he especially likes beating the slag out of me. I admit, sometimes I provoke him. I don't know why. I guess I just can't keep my vocalizer shut sometimes. I just want the rightful credit I deserve for my contributions, but all I get is abuse. Do yourself a favor, kid. Never slag off Megatron."

"I don't want to be alone, and I forgot why I was here in the first place," Video Error told Starscream, "Can I stay with you until Soundwave remembers I'm gone? Please? I think you can use the company too."

"I should just comm Soundwave-" Starscream began, but then Video Error screamed loudly and Starscream put his hand over the sparkling's mouth to keep Megatron from hearing him. "Shh!"

"Don't call him!" Video Error begged, "He'll be mad at me!"

"Why?" Starscream asked; mildly curious.

"I don't know! He just will!" Video Error replied; his yellow visor shining brightly.

Starscream sighed sharply and said "Fine! I'll let you stay in my quarters for a few breems, but eventually Soundwave will have to take you back."

Video Error grabbed onto Starscream's leg with his arms and tentacles. Starscream tried to pull him off, but he was stuck like a barnacle on the hull of the original Nemesis. Having no other choice, Starscream limped back to his quarters with his body injured and a sparkling clinging to him like a wad of gum on the bottom of a shoe.

* * *

A few minutes later found Video Error in Normal mode sitting on Starscream's berth and looking at the seeker as he sat at the end of the berth tending his wounds. The sparkling watched with detached curiosity as Starscream used a soldering iron to weld open wounds shut and used a stylus to guide loose wires back into place. He was fascinated with the tools, and also by Starscream's sudden tolerance of him. It wasn't typical behavior for the selfish older mech.

"Have you refueled yet, Video Error?" Starscream asked after applying the last bit of solvent to his scratched paint.

"You do not have sparkling grade energon, do you?" Video Error stated rather than asked.

"I don't," Starscream admitted, "I'm just trying to figure out how to keep you occupied and out of my way until Soundwave gets here."

"Could you tell me a story?" Video Error requested.

" _A_ _story_?" Starscream asked in disgust, "This isn't a daycare center, boy! You're one of the Decepticon elite in training! You are not to be coddled!"

"Forgive me, sir," Video Error replied; disappointment clear in his tone, "Soundwave doesn't like to tell stories either. I don't know where I got the idea I would want to hear one. I just do."

Starscream rolled his optics and sighed in frustration. He didn't want to cave into the demands of a needy brat, but there was something about Video Error's soft spoken acceptance that made the seeker feel guilty. Finally, he relented and agreed to tell Video Error a story on the condition that the sparkling go into recharge afterward. The little carrier agreed, and Starscream sat next to him on the berth and began his tale.

"There once was a space pirate that could transform his hands into drills. He was the most fearsome thief in all the universe," Starscream said in a theatrical whisper, "He had everything he could ever want. He had riches, he had fame, and he had respect. Despite this however, he still wasn't happy."

"Why not?" Video Error asked with piqued interest.

"Because he was very ugly, and no femme wanted him for a bondmate," Starscream explained patiently, "Well, the space pirate knew there had to be a femme for him out there somewhere-"

"Excuse me?" Video Error interrupted, "What was his name?"

"Who?" Starscream asked obliviously.

"The pirate. What was his name?" Video Error repeated the question.

"Oh, um, Twister," Starscream made up the name on the fly and hoped Video Error didn't notice, "Twister the pirate decided that if he couldn't have true love, that he would buy a femme instead. He put out an ad saying that if a femme agreed to bond with him that he would leave her his vast fortune when he died. Well, as it turned out, only one femme answered his ad. She was one of the most gorgeous femmes on Cybertron-"

"Did she have blue optics?" Video Error interrupted again.

"Why does _that_ matter?" Starscream asked; losing his patience bit by bit with each interruption.

"Because I'm trying to picture the most beautiful femme on Cybertron," Video Error replied, "I picture blue optics, and shiny black armor. Maybe grey and black like me, only shinier. Oh, and a blank face plate! Yeah, if there's only optics then it makes the light from the optics shine even brighter! Oh, and she would have to be a grounder! Fliers are too flimsy. Grounders have good figures without being featherweights. Maybe she could have shiny rims on her tires!"

Starscream stroked his chin in thought as he listened to the sparkling's prattle about his ideal femme. Two things struck Starscream as odd about this reaction. One was that Normal Error was actually excited about something. That wasn't typical of the split-personality mechling. The other thing that was odd was the description itself. Video Error had just described the Autobot sparkling. Apparently despite his lack of memory of the femmeling Video Error still held a subconscious fondness for Phobia. Starscream wondered how he could use this to his advantage...

"So, did the pirate live happily ever after with his purchased femme?" Video Error asked after Starscream was silent for too long.

"No," Starscream replied bluntly, "As it turned out, the femme wasn't willing to wait for Twister to offline, so she terminated him herself to collect his fortune. And she lived happily ever after. The end."

"That's not a very good story," Video Error complained.

"Sure it is," Starscream replied dismissively, "It shows that the spoils belong to the most cunning in society. Now, recharge before I tell Megatron you've been a bad sparkling."

"Megatron doesn't like you," Video Error observed, "Why would he take your word over mine?"

"Okay then, how about this? Recharge or I'll use you for target practice!" Starscream threatened the sparkling.

"Fair enough," Video Error replied before powering down for recharge.

It was half a joor later before Soundwave got off duty and was able to reclaim Video Error. Freezeframe had won the Scavenger Hunt, but it didn't seem worth it to wake up Video Error to tell him the results. Soundwave would have to figure out another way to keep Video Error's interest, and hopefully find a way to reconnect with the little guy so they could reinstate the guardian bond.


	22. Life and Love

_Author's Notes: Warning: sappy romance in this chapter! Seriously though, this is a chapter I've had in my head for a long time, but I wanted to wait until I was sure I could get it just right. This will probably be the last chapter I write that focuses on a romantic relationship since this story is, at it's core, a story about sparklings. I would say this chapter is a mixture of sappiness and sadness. I hope you enjoy reading this, and please review, favorite, and follow if you're enjoying this fic :)_

* * *

Chapter 22

Life and Love

Q-Boom and Cosmos had been bonded for two orns. This was the first time in a month they had been away from each other, and they both already missed each other terribly. Every few hours one would comm the other one just to make sure they were alright.

Q-Boom had gone to earth to visit Phobia and her Dino-brothers. Cosmos had gone to Cybertron to visit Blaster; who had transferred there to become communications chief of a new base of operations. The Decepticons had taken over most of their home planet, and the Autobots needed their best mechs and femmes on Cybertron to defend it from Megatron's forces.

At the Ark, Phobia had been lonely because so many of the Autobots had moved to Autobot City and left her alone. Her daddy had stayed behind to guard the valuable tech that couldn't be easily moved as well as to act as mission control for other parts of Autobot operations on earth. Besides Autobot City there was also Protectobot HQ and the Cybertronian consulate that had been set up in Central City and was manned by Silverbolt, Beachcomber, and Perceptor.

Q-Boom wiped at some dust on the wall with her finger and smiled to herself as she walked the echoing halls behind Phobia. Q-Boom knew there weren't too many mechs around to complain, so she pulled out an enerjolt. The enerjolt, which looked like a small glow stick in the hands of a Cybertronian, was struck against Q-Boom's arm to ignite it and glowed light blue when it was activated.

"They're in here!" Phobia announced as she pulled away a wall panel in the hallway close to the entrance of a storage room.

Inside the panel were dozens of spark chambers with purple paint on them. Those chambers contained the newsparks that had Q-Boom's coding and had been in stasis for 5 years while Q-Boom was a spark ghost.

"These are all mine, right?" Q-Boom asked for clarification, "I don't wanna take any of Honey Venom's with me."

"They're yours," Phobia assured her, "Honey Venom's are in red painted spark chambers, and the green painted chambers don't have anything in them yet. I might save them for me when I get old enough to have sparklings. I might even make them animals like you and Honey Venom did. I still can't believe you told Cosmos about this!"

"He's my bonded, Pheebs. I don't keep secrets from him," Q-Boom replied with a roll of her optics, "I've gotta tell you, everythin' I thought about bein' bonded, it's even better than that."

"You must really love Cosmos," Phobia remarked.

"Oh, I do Phobia. _I do_ ," Q-Boom said vehemently with a wide grin, "I have to admit though that somethin' unexpected happened...on our first night together."

"What?" Phobia asked curiously.

"Well, you know what we've always heard about interfacin', right?" Q-Boom asked rhetorically a she leaned against the wall and took a long drag of her enerjolt, "At the foundlin' home you either learned about interfacin' from the jokes written on the wall or from the former sex slaves that were brought back because their slavers didn't want them anymore."

Q-Boom took another drag of her enerjolt, and exhaled light blue steam. Phobia took out the spark chambers and loaded them into a box Q-Boom had brought for them, and she waited for her friend to finish her story.

"Well," Q-Boom finally continued, "It ain't like that. I expected interfacin' to be gross and comical. Everybody treats it as a big joke or as a casual thing, but it's not. I'm not even sure how to describe what happened to us. I'll admit, I was scared. Cosmos was scared, too. We were both virgins, so we didn't really know what we were doin'. He fumbled with his chassis door, and I laughed about it for a minute or two when he accidentally slammed his digits when the door closed on him. When we were actually together though...How do I describe this? His body was warm, and everthin' around us seemed to stop, yet we kept goin'. I felt so vulnerable, and yet I felt like nothin' could touch us because we were together. For a moment it was like we had merged into a single life force, and our sparks pulsed faster than I've ever felt before. When he embraced me, I never wanted him to let go. To even use the word interfacin' doesn't do it justice. What's that term the humans have? Oh, yeah! Makin' love! That is the only expression I can think of that fits what we did."

"What was the point?" Phobia asked, "You're already going to have sparklings. You didn't need to do anything."

"Well, I just thought I was doin' my job as a bondmate, honestly," Q-Boom shrugged, "But after that...I feel like I know Cosmos better now. I mean, I already knew I loved him, but now it's like I... _crave_ him. I don't know! This is a tough concept to describe to a sparkling!"

"No, I think I get it," Phobia replied, though she wasn't sure if she really did or not, "I think it's nice that you like him so much. You must, if you told him about the newspark chambers. That's a Sigma Sister secret."

"You'll understand someday," Q-Boom replied as she bent down to look at her unbuilt sparklings, "We complement each other, I guess. One thing about Cosmos I love is how he appreciates everythin'. I always treat life like it's no big deal, but to Cosmos _everythin_ ' is a big deal. I remember when I drank my first energon in my new body, and Cosmos started recordin' it so we could look back on it later. Six months after we started datin', he downloaded a special video game into his system for our anniversary. I had to tell him I forgot. The game was called _To The Moon_. It was sappy, but romantic in a weird sort of way. Sometimes I feel like I don't deserve him. He gives me more than I could ever give him. He loved me when there was nothin' to love but a spark. How can I ever be enough for someone that good?"

Q-Boom then sucked up the rest of the energy in her enerjolt, and then threw the empty cartridge in her subspace. Phobia polished a few of the newsparks, and then Q-Boom joined her in cleaning the rest.

"I named two of them," Phobia said suddenly, "I know they're yours, but I kept them for a really long time, so I named two of my favorites."

"Oh yeah? Which two?" Q-Boom asked indulgently.

"This one," Phobia pulled it out.

Q-Boom scanned the newspark, and saw that it was one of her insectibots. The fire shooting one if she remembered correctly.

"I named him Inferno, after Uncle Inferno," Phobia informed her, "The spark feels warm. He's gonna be healthy, I can tell."

"Okay, so where's the other one?" Q-Boom asked as she took _Inferno_ and put it back in the box.

"This one!" Phobia handed it to Q-Boom, and the scanner showed it was the purple T-Rex Q-Boom had programmed to look a little like Grimlock, "I named him Red Alert, after my daddy. I don't know if I'll live long enough to name my own sparkling after my daddy, so I named this one after him. Is that okay?"

"Sure," Q-Boom said with an enthusiastic smile, "Red Alert is a perfect name for him. It's what people will shout when they see him rampaging through Tokyo. Look out! Red Alert! Red Alert! Hahahaha!"

"Do you have any names picked out?" Phobia asked.

"Well, Cosmos and I have been talkin'," Q-Boom replied contemplatively, "Cosmos's favorite movie is Terminator II. You know, the one where Arnold what's-his-face protects the boy from that cool melting mech? Well, we talked about it, and I wanna name my first sparkling after somethin' Cosmos likes."

"But how will you know which sparkling is oldest?" Phobia asked.

"The first one I came up with was the green wasp with the breakaway frame," Q-Boom explained, "So I wanna name it Waspinator, after Cosmos's favorite movie. I also thought about calling the velociraptor Dinobot, after my brothers. Other than that, I'm still thinkin'."

Phobia nodded and placed Red Alert back in the box with the other newsparks. They talked and sorted the spark chambers for the better part of the day. No one disturbed them because they were practically the only ones still there in the Ark. At least with Q-Boom there, Phobia didn't hear the silence in the nearly empty ship so much.

* * *

Back on Cybertron, Blaster and Cosmos were sitting at a table in the base's rec room and talking. Well, Blaster was talking mostly. Ever since Video Error had been stolen from him he had been in a state of depression that sometimes would lapse into anger and hate. He just knew Megatron was harming the sparkling he had come to consider his own, but he was helpless to do anything about it!

After a couple joors though, Blaster realized that Cosmos hadn't said very much. He looked over at the saucer-former to see that he was nodding off with his helm propped up by his elbow joint.

"Cosmos? Hey, Cos! Wake up, mech!" Blaster shouted.

"Wha-!?" Cosmos exclaimed as his helm popped up like a prairie dog's, "Oh, I'm so sorry, Blaster. I know you need me to listen, but the truth is I'm actually quite tired at the moment. You can keep talking though. I won't go anywhere."

"Cosmos, is somethin' wrong, mech?" Blaster asked; suddenly concerned for his friend's well being.

"Oh, no. Quite the opposite, actually," Cosmos said with a bashful smile, "Quantum Boom and I have been quite happy with our life together so far. Space has never felt so alive. We're even talking about having spark...lings. Oh, I'm sorry, Blaster. I know that's a touchy subject."

"It's okay, Cos," Blaster replied, though his tone said he was still depressed, "Just 'cause I'm sad doesn't mean you shouldn't be allowed to be happy. Go on, tell me all about it, bro."

"Well, I suppose I should explain why I've been so tired and why my duty reports are all so late…" Cosmos said, though there was a reluctance in his tone, "Hm...I don't know how Quantum Boom would feel about my talking about this with you though..."

"I won't tell if you don't," Blaster said slyly.

"Well, okay then. The truth is…" Cosmos took a moment to gather his thoughts, but then he finally said, "The truth is, Quantum Boom has a very high libido. We've been together sixteen times in just two orns, and I've never had to ask once! She always comes to me! Of course I've never said no, but it just surprises me is all. When we first met she was dead-set against the idea of intimacy, but now I can barely get a moment's peace. It's not just love making though. She has so much energy for everything. The other cycle we chased each other around an asteroid belt for joors, and then when I caught her we did some aerial maneuvers that are so much cooler in zero gravity! I've never felt so alive! She's young, tall, beautiful, energetic, and totally into me! What did I do to deserve such a great femme?"

"Well, I don't think it's that she's the best femme ever," Blaster replied honestly, "I just think she's the best femme ever for _you_. Everyone has a type. Personally, I think Q-Boom is too butch for my tastes. I like 'em round, soft, and with a lot of rhythm in their stride. Q-Boom doesn't have any bounce. She's all pounce. She charges head-first into everythin'."

Cosmos gave Blaster a nasty scowl in response to him dissing his femme.

"Look, I'll never see Q-Boom as that kind of femme because I knew her when she was just a bratty sparkling, and it's hard for me to see anythin' else," Blaster tried to explain better, "For you though, she's the femme you've been waitin' your whole life for. You shouldn't assume she's better than you though. For all you know, you're the mech she's been waitin' her whole life for."

"Maybe," Cosmos said uncertainly, "But that still means I've been waiting a lot longer than her. The truth is, I'm worried I'm too old for her. She could've had Slingshot. Pit, she could've had _anyone_ else!"

"Heh heh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I heard Slingshot's dental plates grindin' durin' your bondin' ceremony!" Blaster laughed heartily, "Seriously though, does it matter who Q-Boom could've had? She didn't choose Slingshot. She chose _you_. She loves _you_. Slingshot might be in her age group, and similar to her frame type, but she doesn't want him. She wants you. Otherwise you wouldn't be so tired all the time," Blaster added with a wink.

Blaster and Cosmos shared a laugh over that last remark, and Cosmos allowed himself to marginally relax. After a few seconds though, Cosmos asked a question that turned the mood sour once more…

"Have you ever been in love, Blaster?" Cosmos asked innocently.

Blaster's features darkened with the painful memories, but he answered nonetheless.

"Yeah, _once_ ," Blaster replied bitterly, "Her name was Shaboom. She and I worked together...until Soundwave killed her. I hate that Decepticon creep so much! He's a drone with a black hole where his spark should be! I can't believe I haven't rescued Video Error Solarflare and Freezeframe yet! Why did I let him take my son away? What kind of guardian _am I?_ "

Blaster was sobbing at this point, and Cosmos was starting to feel uncomfortable with where this conversation had gone. Nonetheless, Cosmos knew his friend was hurting over his loss, so he put a comforting servo on Blaster's shoulder guard. Blaster looked up into the understanding optics of his friend and tried to smile, but he couldn't do it.

"Blaster, I know you're worried, but I'm sure Video Error is safe," Cosmos finally said after a moment of silence.

"With the _Decepticons_?" Blaster asked; his voice filled with hatred.

"Yes, Blaster, with the Decepticons," Cosmos replied calmly, "I know they've done horrible things, but even the Decepticons are Cybertronian. Even they are capable of loving their sparklings."

"Oh, like you really know how Decepticons raise their young!" Blaster snapped; unwilling to listen.

"I don't," Cosmos admitted, but then added, "But my bondmate does. Quantum Boom was Decepticon-sparked, if you'll remember. Before she was orphaned she said her sire loved her very much and they spent a lot of time together. Of course no family is perfect. Quantum Boom's father lost his trine, and developed an addiction in order to keep his sanity. Actually, I've noticed Quantum Boom is going down that same road. She makes and smokes enerjolts to keep the troubling thoughts away, and I must admit I'm worried about her. I fear my love will never replace the need she has for a trine. I fear I may yet lose her to the voices in her processor telling her to trine or else."

"Decepticons let their sparklings fight for their cause," Blaster stated; still unwilling to drop the subject, "Autobots don't force sparklings to fight! Decepticons allow child soldiers in their ranks."

"I don't think that's true," Cosmos refuted, "Well, at least I don't think that's common. Quantum Boom was never expected to fight. Also, we've never actually seen Video Error, Solarflare, or Freezeframe in a real battle. I'm sure Soundwave will at least wait until they are ready for their upgrades."

"I don't wanna end up like Sunstreaker," Blaster told Cosmos; his voice heavy with sadness, "He did everythin' right for his sparkling. He protected her, loved her, told her how the world worked. He did everythin' right, but she still had the urge to fight. Terrabyte ran off to fight the first chance she got, and she was killed for it. She couldn't fight her Decepticon programmin'."

"That's not fair," Cosmos replied sternly, "Terrabyte wanted to fight to protect the Autobots. She died to _stop_ Megatron, not to support him. Besides, sparklings do impulsive things. I know Sunstreaker and Sideswipe blamed themselves, but they couldn't stay awake all the time and constantly watch her! No parent can be expected to be perfect. They did everything they could, and so did you. Video Error won't end up like Terrabyte. He's a strong sparkling, and he has a large family that cares about him. I know you hate Soundwave, but I don't think he's incapable of loving his younglings. If he were, then he wouldn't have been able to keep all 8 of them alive for so long."

"I just don't want to have to fight Video Error when he grows up," Blaster sighed, "I can't do that. I'm not even sure I could fight Solarflare and Freezeframe. They're...he was my _son_. That feelin' will never go away. I won't be able to hurt him, but he might still hurt me. Soundwave couldn't have disabled me any better if he'd tried."

Cosmos didn't know what else to say. He knew Blaster was despondent and no words would fix this. So he offered no more words. He just sat there and let Blaster talk. After a few hours he comm'ed Q-Boom again just to make sure she was alright. It made Cosmos feel guilty that he was so happy when his best friend's world was falling apart.


	23. Deciding Moments

_Author's Notes: I cannot tell you how happy I am that this chapter is done! This is one I've had planned for months, and it's probably one of the most significant chapters of Custody Battle plot-wise to date. That's probably why it's so long... I'm also happy it's done because Google Docs erased that last part of my chapter and I had to type it all out again! ARGH! Oh well, it probably came out better because I had to do it twice. Thank you for reading and please review, favorite, and follow :)_

* * *

Chapter 23

Deciding Moments

Soundwave's progeny were worried. Adults and sparklings alike waited eagerly in their quarters on the ship for word about Laserbeak's well being. Laserbeak was only supposed to be gone for a few joors, but it had been over an orn and still no word back from the red and black bird cassette.

The Nemesis 2 had been traveling in space for some time, and now they were orbiting a planet close to Cybertron that had no life. The Autobots wouldn't bother scanning a dead world, so Megatron and his forces waited patiently for their moment to strike from the safety of the dead planet's orbit.

Video Error was in Crazy mode and splashing in a puddle of house paint he brought back from earth. He was the only one that seemed unconcerned about Laserbeak. The others wished Soundwave had stayed with them, but he was needed on the bridge of the warship, so they were left to their own devices.

"Have you heard back yet?" Ratbat asked everyone else when he flew into the room.

"Nothing," Ravage replied sullenly, "What about you? What's going on?"

"I don't know!" Ratbat exclaimed in frustration, "Nobody talks to me! What was the point of learning vocal Cybertronian if nobody was going to talk to me? Spark language is good enough. I should've just stuck to talking to you guys and Soundwave."

"This is slagging ridiculous!" Solarflare shouted suddenly, "Sending Laserbeak into Autobot territory when those slaggers are getting better and better at killing us! We're _winning_! Why can't the Autobots just admit defeat and take their punishment like mechs?"

"The Decepticons might be winning the war," Freezeframe said stoically, "But that does not mean the war is over. The Decepticons have killed off the weak Autobots, but that leaves the strongest of their forces to fight us. That is why Laserbeak's job is so vital. Information is power. Spies are more valuable than ever before. I believe when I am older I wish to become a spy."

"Not me!" Solarflare proclaimed, "I wanna fight! I'll be on the front lines flaming Autobots like organic food over a campfire!"

"With any luck you won't have to," Ravage replied, "You're young. Perhaps the war will end before you have to fight. Perhaps we will finally be able to live in peace once Megatron has conquered the Autobot foes."

"Nah, there'll still be things to do," Solarflare declared confidently, "Megatron will want more worlds conquered, and I'll be right there to help him do it! Who knows? Someday I might even get a high ranking position! Hey, maybe I could become the first cassette to ever reach the rank of second in command!"

"That would make you Side B!" Crazy Error cackled as he smacked his hands in the paint puddle like a toddler in a bathtub.

Solarflare scowled at her purple-visored brother, but didn't argue. She knew there was no point trying to have a real conversation with him when he was in Crazy mode. His logic centers were fried in this state. Hook had explained that this personality stemmed from Video Error's daydream sequences, so he was actually acting out the fantasies in his processor that most mechs and femmes knew better than to talk about, let alone actually _do_.

These thoughts were interrupted by a private comm on Soundwave's computer. The cassettes knew Soundwave wasn't in, so one of them would have to answer it. Video Error heard the buzzing of the comm, and for some reason this triggered his Normal mode.

"I'm not gettin' it," Rumble proclaimed as he crossed his arms.

"Me neither," Frenzy added, "Everybody keeps makin' fun of my new high-pitched voice. It's not my fault Steeljaw chewed up part of my vocalizer!"

"I'll answer it," Video Error shrugged as he walked calmly over to the monitor.

When Video Error turned on the view screen on the computer, he saw that the caller was a white femme with black accents, long animal ears, and large yellow optics. She looked like she was staring through the screen and into the sparks of the wary Cassetticons, and it was more than a little creepy to most of them.

"Who are you?" The femme asked Video Error.

"I should ask you the same thing," Video Error replied, "Why do you wish to speak to Soundwave?"

"I don't," The femme replied in a smooth monotone voice, "I wish to speak to...which one? Oh, right. Laserbeak. Where is Laserbeak?"

"He's not here," Video Error replied vaguely.

"Oh. Then I am too late," The femme stated; her tone never changing, "It has already begun. Cybertron will be bitten into like an apple, and the instruments of destruction will travel to earth and lay waste to all they survey. Sorry to bother you, sparkling. If I may ask, who are you?"

"My name is Video Error," Video Error replied as he narrowed his visor at the strange femme, "Who are you?"

The femme's face remained mostly unchanged, except for a slight widening of her optics. Video Error could tell though, for whatever reason, his name surprised her. She reached a hand to the screen, and Video Error could see a paw resting over her actual servo like a piece of armor, and her forearm was covered in short white fur. She was a Predacon, likely one of Shockwave's creations, but she seemed smarter than the ones Shockwave had made so far.

"Goodbye, System Error," The femme said in a sad voice before cutting off the connection.

Video Error was slightly surprised as the screen went dark. Whatever that femme was, he was definitely going to ask Laserbeak about it later. That is, if Laserbeak ever actually came back.

* * *

The femme cut off the connection and made a sad warbling noise as she hung her helm at the screen. She looked out at the black starry expanse and the earth, which was clearly visible where she was on earth's moon, and wondered how she could've missed such important historical information.

She transformed into her alt mode, a white kangaroo, and hopped along the surface of the moon. The low gravity was very calming, and this was an easy way to travel from her work space to her living space; which she kept some distance away.

She knew she had to tell them what happened, but she wasn't sure how to explain this. She knew that Unicron was going to Cybertron soon, and that this moon was likely the safest place for herself and her symbiotes, but if she was wrong about System Error not serving under Megatron…

The femme rubbed her pouch and nodded to herself, making up her mind to not hold back anything from the only beings left that mattered to her now.

"Joey, Stranglor: emerge," The femme commanded.

Two oval orbs popped out of the pouch, one brown and one turquoise. The brown one transformed into a humanoid mech with pile drivers like Rumble and Frenzy, and the turquoise one transformed into a fat snake-like creature with long spikes running down its back.

"Carrier, what happened?" The humanoid one asked.

"Oh, Joey…" The femme seemed at a loss for words, "...I have failed to...research the situation."

"What's to research?" The snake, Stranglor, asked, "You already know what happens. Just tell us what we have to do."

"I missed something," The femme admitted, "There is a sparkling on Megatron's ship. I was not aware he had child soldiers. The sparkling grows up to be...System Error."

"System Error?" Joey gasped in shock, "The five-in-one mech that assassinates Scorponok and becomes the new leader of the faction known as the Decepticons? That's amazing! What's he like? Was he mean? Was he big? Which mode was he in? Does he have the tendrils yet? Tell me everything!"

"He is a sparkling," The femme replied simply, "That is not the point. I failed. The Cassetticon known as Laserbeak is already gone. So are the Autobots. Time is made of millions of intricate wires. We must cut the right ones to achieve the outcome we want. There is still something we can do, but we must bide our time. We must wait for Cybertron to become livable again, and then we will have our next target in our sights."

"What do we do with the target, Carrier?" Joey asked eagerly.

"This time, I am afraid we must kill it," The femme replied stonily.

She then turned back into robot mode and nodded for her symbiotes to return to their egg alt modes. She knew kangaroos didn't really carry eggs, but it seemed like the most convenient package for her sparklings. Joey and Stranglor couldn't possibly understand how much power she held in her servos at the moment, and yet she was powerless to stop a simple bird cassette in time to save the Autobots. Now they would all die. Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet, Prowl, Wheeljack...so many would die because she failed.

* * *

A few days ago Cosmos brought Blaster back to earth to resume his duties in Autobot City and had taken Q-Boom back to outer space with him. Phobia missed her friend already. It seemed like everyone was leaving her. She lost Video Error to the 'Cons, and now Q-Boom had run off to be married and left Phobia alone again.

One good thing she still had left was her daddy. He and her Uncle Inferno were still diligently watching the skies from their station in the Ark. Phobia wished they could move to Autobot City. All the other Autobots might be adults, but at least she would have someone, anyone, to keep her company while her daddy worked.

On this day she had been playing with her toys in her room by herself and had found an unusual toy under her berth. She pulled it out, and it was a Megatron toy! She remembered this. It had belonged to Video Error. She wanted so badly to be able to return this toy to him, since it had meant so much to Video Error when he was still whole. Even though it was a likeness of Megatron, she hugged it, because it was a treasure that had once belonged to her old friend.

"This was made by Soundwave…" Phobia whispered to herself from the safety of her closet berth room, "I did the right thing, leaving him there. Soundwave loves Video Error. He'll be happier with his own daddy and his own siblings. Video Error is happy. So why am I so sad?"

Phobia felt cleaning fluid drip down her optics and onto the floor. She couldn't keep this. It didn't belong to her. It belonged to Video Error, and even if he didn't remember it he should still have it back.

She went down the halls to the security room where her father and Inferno would be working. It was one of the few rooms that was still spotlessly clean because it was one of the only rooms still in use on the Ark. She had to convince her daddy to let her return the doll to Video Error.

When she got to the room, however, she heard them talking to someone over the computer. She stopped and listened in.

"We need reinforcements now! We can't wait for Prime!" She heard Ultra Magnus say through static and booming noises, "How soon can you be here?"

"We'll be there in 10 minutes," Red Alert said resolutely, "Stay strong, Ultra Magnus. The Decepticons won't take Autobot City so long as there's energon in our systems."

"Yeah, those Decepticreeps won't know what hit 'em!" Inferno added gamely.

Phobia heard the transmission cut off, and to avoid detection she quickly ran into the nearest door, what had once been Prowl's quarters but was now being used to store data pads. She was sure that fact made the Datsun very happy.

She peeked through the crack in the floor and watched as Red Alert and Inferno took off for Autobot City. This battle sounded important. The Decepticons had never attacked Autobot City before. She knew they would need every set of servos they could get, and she wasn't about to hide away like some kind of earth chicken! She left the safety of Prowl's old room, transformed into her hearse alt mode, and took off down the hallways after her daddy!

* * *

It felt weird to be traveling in an Autobot shuttle. Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe didn't see any of the fighting that happened in order for the Decepticons to obtain this shuttle, but they definitely saw the gory aftermath. The Constructicons had thrown 4 Autobot bodies off the shuttle and started working the controls as if they had merely thrown out old garbage instead of what had once been 4 Cybertronian lives.

Soundwave knew he couldn't shield his sparklings forever. Having them here only proved that things were getting more intense. Part of him was almost glad Video Error had amnesia so that he wouldn't remember when their home had been burned to slag back at their old camp on Cybertron, but then that meant this would be Video Error's first recorded instance of large-scale destruction.

"We're entering earth's orbit," Scrapper informed the group, "What are your orders, Lord Megatron?"

"We attack fast, and we attack hard," Megatron replied as he gazed out at Autobot City near the horizon, "If we can take the city, then we have a new base of operations in the crown jewel of the Autobots' energon production line. Take no prisoners, and show no mercy!"

Most of the Decepticons cheered. Soundwave was impassive as always, but inside he was concerned. His sparklings had never purposefully been so close to the fighting before. This was necessary, however. The Nemesis 2 had been critically damaged in an asteroid field just before they had taken the Autobot shuttle. There was no place else for the Decepticon forces to go, so they needed a new base desperately. Autobot City would be perfect.

"2 minutes until time to jump ship," Blitzwing informed them.

"Alright! Time to kick some Autobot tail!" Solarflare exclaimed eagerly.

"Solarflare, Freezeframe: return," Soundwave ordered as he opened his chest compartment.

"Aw, come on!" Solarflare shouted, "We wanna help you!"

"Solarflare, Freezeframe: return at once," Soundwave repeated; a low edge to his otherwise drab voice.

"Yes, sir," Solarflare replied in defeat.

Solarflare and Freezeframe turned into cassette mode and went inside Soundwave's tape deck knowing he wouldn't call on them to fight. Now, it was time to decide how to handle Video Error.

Soundwave looked, and saw that Video Error was in Crazy mode and bugging one of the Insecticons. He was pulling on one of Kickback's shoulder wings and laughing like a maniac. Soundwave thought about this, and decided that in Crazy mode Video Error might actually be useful. He decided to let him join the fight.

* * *

Phobia drove up and down the mountain trail to get to Autobot City. At first she had been lost because she had never been to Autobot City before, but it didn't take long to find it once she saw the telltale pinkish colored laser light that indicated plasma fire. They were fighting, and Phobia had to get there to help the Autobots. She was tired of being left alone in the mausoleum that was the Ark.

She turned the corner, and immediately wished she'd stayed home. It was utter chaos as the Decepticons fought in full force against the Autobots! The base itself was closing off to prevent the Decepticons from penetrating it, and both sides were fighting with a viciousness Phobia hadn't seen since she lived in Altihex!

She transformed into her robot mode and immediately began to search for her daddy. There was no way she was going to leave him and her Uncle Inferno in this mess all alone! She weaved around broken flooring and rubble; wondering vaguely how painful this was to Metroplex since he was the actual battlefield.

She finally found her daddy and Inferno shooting at the Constructicons. Red Alert was determined to hold them back as long as possible. Tracks and Sideswipe were fighting by their side, and there were many more Autobots all around. In the distance she could see Kup and Hot Rod driving into the stronghold before the doors closed on them. This was bad. Once the perimeter was sealed Metroplex might try to leave, and anything on him would be thrown off and possibly broken!

"Constructicons!" She heard someone say, though she couldn't tell who amid the chaos, "Merge into Devastator!"

"Huh?" Phobia whispered to herself, "Those guys are…? _Oh, no_ …"

The Constructicons melded together into a 120 ft tall monstrosity and roared as it readied itself to kill everything in its path. The problem was that two of the things in its path were Phobia's family! She didn't know what she could do, but Phobia had to do something to save her daddy! She transformed into hearse mode and drove as fast as she could. She had to get there in time to help him. She only hoped she at least slowed Devastator down before she passed out or died.

The four valiant Autobots shot at Devastator, and the giant flung his hand down and smashed the first Autobot he could reach!

" _Red_!" Inferno screamed when he saw the battered remains of his friend and colleague; energon still seeping from the flattened frame.

Red Alert's body quickly went grey, and his gun skidded across the battlefield over to where Megatron and Optimus Prime were fighting. Red Alert was dead instantly.

" _DADDY_!" Phobia's piercing scream caused the other Autobots to turn around and see the little hearse just as she transformed and attached herself to one of Devastator's legs to suck out his energon.

"NO! Phobia _, get back_!" Inferno shouted at the enraged sparkling.

Ultra Magnus joined the fight to help the other Autobots fend off Devastator, but he soon realized that they couldn't fire just yet. The sparkling femme was attached to the leg of the combiner!

"What is she doing!?" Ultra Magnus asked furiously as he pointed to Phobia.

"Red Alert was killed…" Sideswipe said ominously as he pointed to the dead frame of their security chief.

Devastator screeched as energon left his body. It wasn't enough to weaken the gestalt, but it was enough to mildly sting the combiner. He grabbed Phobia, and the Autobots tried to shoot him down, but their weapons were useless. Devastator crushed the sparkling's body like an aluminum can and tossed her aside as if she were nothing.

Inferno and Sideswipe ran to the sparkling's side while Ultra Magnus and Tracks continued to fire on the gestalt. Devastator tried to attack Inferno and Sideswipe, but then the Dinobots showed up and attacked the brute so hard the Constructicons were forced to separate back into their six different parts! It didn't matter how strong the combiner was. Nothing can beat five angry Dinobots.

"Phobia! Sparklet, say something!" Inferno demanded as he held the bent and broken frame in his arms.

Phobia's optics flickered blue and black, indicating she was alive, but she wasn't able to speak. She was leaking energon everywhere, and replacing it would be especially difficult given her need for bodily-refined energon.

"We can take her to the shuttle!" Sideswipe said quickly.

"We'd better hurry," Inferno replied as he picked up Phobia and ran with her; Sideswipe close behind, "I know emergency repair procedure. It's not enough to make full repairs, but I should be able to keep her alive until we make it to the Protectobots' HQ."

"I'll help you," Sideswipe promised, "I'll comm Sunny and tell him to meet us at the shuttle. I just hope Prime doesn't need us while we're gone."

"Hurry up! We're losing her!" Inferno shouted frantically.

Sideswipe tried his comm system, only to look back at Inferno with dread in his optics as he said "It's a communications blackout. I can't reach Sunny!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Video Error found himself in a most unenviable position. He had turned into Coward Error only to find that Anger Error had been trying to storm Autobot City. He ran back the way he came to find a place to hide, but as he was exiting the side door one of his tentacles got stuck in a protruding piece of metal in the wall!

Video Error screamed and cried as his tentacle sent shooting pain all throughout his body! He tried to pull, but that only made it hurt worse! He paced around trying to think of a way to free himself, but then his pede got stuck in the crook of the floor track where the door was held! He didn't think things could get any worse, until he heard the loudspeaker…

" _Attention! Attention! Autobot City is going under lockdown! All Autobots scramble! The city is going under lockdown!_ "

"Lockdown?" Coward Error asked himself nervously, "What's lockdown?"

The adults were all away fighting the Autobots. He didn't know where Soundwave was. He was all alone, and now he had to try to figure out what lockdown was! His answer came when the big steel door started to slowly move toward him, and he realized he was stuck. He was going to be crushed by the door and killed!

" _No_!" Video Error cried out in panic, " _Help me! Please!_ Someone help me! I can't get out! Soundwave! _Anybody_! _HELP_!"

The door was almost to his position. He knew this was it. He pulled on his foot until it was almost free, and managed to move it slightly, but it wasn't enough. Between his pede and his tentacle there was no way he could save himself!

Just as the door approached, however, somebody rammed into Video Error and pushed him out of the way of the oncoming door of death! His tentacle was ripped away and the nub was leaking energon, but the rest of him was blessedly still alive! They were outside the base, and Video Error had never been so happy to see a sky in his life!

He looked up at his savior, only to see yet another unfamiliar face. This mech was gold colored with a large vented black and gold helm and a silver face plate. His optics were blue... _Autobot blue_. Scrap! This guy was an Autobot!

"No! Don't hurt me! I didn't mean to!" Video Error pleaded; his yellow visor flashing in fear.

The Autobot grunted, but didn't answer him. Instead, he looked around for a place to set the sparkling down. Video Error wondered who this guy was and if he was going to get his spark ripped out by the scary Autobot. Then again, the Autobot saved him…

"Sunstreaker!"

The Autobot and Video Error looked up at the same time to see a blue mech with a red face plate running toward them.

"What is it, Tracks?" Sunstreaker asked as he held the sparkling tighter to protect him.

"You must get back to the shuttle at once!" Tracks insisted, "Red Alert is dead, and Phobia is in critical condition! Inferno and Sideswipe are doing everything they can to save her, but we don't know if she'll survive her injuries."

Sunstreaker nodded and was about to leave with Tracks when their path was blocked. Soundwave, who was carrying a seriously wounded Megatron, looked at the Autobots with a glowing red visor; the only indicator he was in a hostile mood. Video Error saw him, and despite his Coward mode knew he wanted to be with him.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Video Error exclaimed quickly as he struggled in Sunstreaker's grip, "That's Soundwave! He's my sire! Let me go! Let me go now! I wanna go with Soundwave! _Let me_ _go_!"

Sunstreaker's arms were much stronger than Video Error's feeble attempts to free himself, but after a few seconds Sunstreaker made the choice to release the little triple changer to his sire.

Video Error whimpered and hugged onto Soundwave's leg with his arms legs and one remaining tentacle. Soundwave could feel the sparkling reaching out to him for comfort with his spark, and was relieved that at last they would be able to form the guardian bond. It would have to wait until they got back to Astrotrain though. Megatron needed urgent medical care.

Sunstreaker and Soundwave stared at each other for one last moment; Sunstreaker's hard glare vs Soundwave's impassive gaze. Neither said a word, but they both conveyed a warning to each other. Soundwave warned Sunstreaker to never touch his sparkling again, and Sunstreaker warned him to never let his sparkling into battle again. All without saying a word.

* * *

Inferno and Sideswipe worked tirelessly on stabilizing Phobia while they waited for Sunstreaker to return to the shuttle. Sideswipe worked on pulling out dents that interfered with the internal circuitry while Inferno closed off torn energon lines and reattached wires and cables.

A few minutes after they started working, Phobia's optics flickered again, and she reached out a servo for Inferno to grab. Inferno stopped what he was doing for a moment to squeeze her servo reassuringly, and Phobia tried to speak through the static.

"She can't be awake for this!" Sideswipe snapped impatiently, "It'll make the repairs harder!"

"Da...ee…" Phobia tried to say despite barely being able to stay conscious.

"Shh...It's okay, Sparklet. You're gonna pull through," Inferno said comfortingly, "I'm right here. So is Sideswipe. You remember Sideswipe, don't you Sparklet?"

"Daddy…" Phobia managed to say, and her optics started to fill with cleaning fluid, "I wa...too...lay…"

"Shh, you need to go into stasis lock now, Sparklet," Inferno told her gently, "We're gonna have to work on you, but you'll be okay."

Phobia blacked out, but her final thoughts flashed by in a tormenting wave. Why did he have to say she would be okay? Every time someone said that to her something bad happened.

" _We're going to be okay…" Honey Venom had said when Tearjerker died._

That day came flashing back with a vengeance. Phobia had forgotten most of the details over the years, but for some reason her processor had decided today would be the perfect day to play it back with intense clarity.

 _The interior of the shuttle, Tearjerker, was a mess as items were scattered all over the place. The lights no longer worked inside of Tearjerker, and it looked like a tornado had passed through. Most of the sparklings were jumbled together in a heap and couldn't untangle themselves from each other. Only Honey Venom was able to get to the controls and relay a message in the black box. Phobia cried for Tearjerker, but instead of comfort her only reward was Honey Venom yelling at her to shut up. This was a nightmare!_

 _Q-Boom, Terrabyte, and Phobia all tried to pull apart from each other, but it only seemed to make the situation worse as pain shot through all three of them. Honey Venom came over, but instead of helping them pull apart she instead climbed on top of them and settled in._

 _"Come on, Sigma Sisters, huddle!" Honey Venom ordered; confusing her friends, "We need to conserve energy, so we're going into stasis lock. We're going to be okay…"_

In a way she was both right and wrong. Honey Venom herself had not been okay. While the other sigmas had loving fathers, Honey Venom had a mentor named Skyfire. She had grown close to the big shuttle despite all the arguments they had, but then he was killed by the Decepticons. Honey Venom had died trying to get revenge for what the Decepticons did to her father figure…

 _Wait_ … Phobia thought to herself through the fog of oblivion. _Oh, no...I've become just like Honey Venom! I tried to get revenge when I knew I would just die and hurt everyone else that was left. Why did I attack Devastator? This isn't right. The newsparks rely on me...Uncle Inferno still loves me...Q-Boom...The Dinobots and the humans...Oh, dear! If I get a second chance, I promise I won't use it for revenge. I'll do something good with my life to help people. I just need to...I just need to live. I have to survive...for them. For the future. For me…_

* * *

Sunstreaker returned to the shuttle to find Sideswipe and Inferno feverishly working to keep Phobia alive. He nodded a short greeting and then went straight to the shuttle to reprogram its course for Queensland, Australia; the new location of Protectobot Headquarters. He just hoped First Aid could fix this.

"Where were you, Sunny?" Sideswipe snapped, "We're running out of time!"

"I got stopped by one of Soundwave's annoying little henchmechs," Sunstreaker grunted, and the others accepted the short explanation.

Sunstreaker couldn't tell them the whole story. Sideswipe would never understand Sunstreaker giving Soundwave back his sparkling even after the Decepticon had allowed his own son to be in the middle of a battlefield. How could he explain to the Autobots that he didn't want to fight Soundwave over this? Especially given his reputation for fighting 'Cons.

Sunstreaker knew though that he didn't really have a choice. What was he supposed to do? Take the sparkling, and then fight with Soundwave forever over it? Kill Soundwave and scar the sparkling for life? No. Never again. Sunstreaker would never allow himself into a position like that again. Besides, as far as Sunstreaker was concerned, there was only one sparkling that would ever truly matter to him.

He sighed and watched as Inferno and Sideswipe worked on Phobia. Sunstreaker would absentmindedly hand them tools when they asked for them, but his processor was 6 years and hundreds of mechano-miles away.

He allowed the memory file to play and even smiled a little as he rewatched and relived the moment. It was when Sunstreaker had shown Terrabyte his artwork that he had painted when he was younger. Terrabyte had no natural artistic talent, but she had an almost insatiable curiosity and appreciation for secrets. She hid all of that from others, though. Terrabyte had a tender spark, so she hid her true self with an attitude of cold indifference. She was so much like Sunstreaker, and he smiled when he remembered those rare moments when she let him in, and he let her in, and they shared each other's worlds.

He looked back at Phobia, still barely clinging to life, and wondered what that little sparkling could've told him about his daughter. In all these years, he never bothered to ask her. Honestly, even if she pulled through, he still wasn't sure if he'd ask her.


	24. Fighting For Life

_Author's Notes: This chapter was going to be longer, but I think it flowed better as-is. Hopefully you guys like it, and I hope you'll review, favorite, and follow to see more Custody Battle :)_

* * *

Chapter 24

Fighting For Life

The Decepticons were retreating through space inside Astrotrain's cargo hold and metaphorically licking their wounds. Video Error sat in between Soundwave and the barely conscious form of Megatron. Rumble hugged Megatron's detached fusion cannon as if it were a lifeline, and Solarflare and Freezeframe kept to themselves. The other cassettes remained inside Soundwave's chassis.

"I don't get it!" Solarflare groused, "First we have a big spaceship, then we have a small shuttle, and now we're stuck riding around in Astrotrain's aft!"

"We're not literally in Astrotrain's aft," Freezeframe argued tiredly.

"Hmph! It's a pretty good representation of the Decepticon cause as a whole," Solarflare replied sorely, "What are we gonna drive around in next? A little red wagon!?"

"Shh!" Freezeframe shushed her harshly, and then whispered, "Don't say anything off the cuff like that. It might give Crazy Error ideas."

"He's not in Crazy mode right now," Solarflare pointed out.

"Yes, but I don't trust that situation to stay that way," Freezeframe explained.

They sat in silence for a moment listening to the pained moaning of the injured and the grumbling of the other Decepticons, but then Freezeframe said something Solarflare never expected from the calm collected mechling…

"You know sis, there used to be three things in this universe I considered to be unchanging constants," Freezeframe said wistfully, "One was that you were my split spark twin. Two was that Soundwave was our father and would always protect us. Three was that Video Error was our older brother and would always be there for us. Now one of those constants is gone."

"Which one?" Solarflare asked obliviously.

Freezeframe sighed at her stupidity and replied "The third one. Video Error is not reliable anymore. I never know what is going to set him off or how he will react when stimulated. To be fair, he did reinstate the guardian bond with our father. At least that brings him closer to establishing the sibling bond with us."

"I don't know. I'm not sure I _want_ him back in our bond," Solarflare admitted hesitantly as she turned away from Freezeframe, "What if he infects us with his insanity?"

"That is a very selfish attitude," Freezeframe replied bluntly.

"I know! I know…" Solarflare was conflicted, but she couldn't help herself, "It's just that...Video Error used to be so...so…"

"Complex?" Freezeframe offered.

"Yeah! Complex," Solarflare exclaimed before finishing her thought, "He could be scared and yet want to play a game to take his processor off of his fear. He could be angry, sad, and hurt all at once. He would want to protect us while at the same time figuring out how to get out of a situation. Now though...it's like he can't do more than one thing at a time. I've seen combiners where five mechs become one, but I've never seen one mech become five, and it's scary. It's like...segmented chaos, and I don't want that in our bond. It might hurt us. I think we're better off without Video Error in there. I know that feeling is probably wrong, but I can't help it. That's just how I feel."

Freezeframe sighed and didn't say anything more. He had considered the notion himself, but he wouldn't dare say anything. Video Error was his brother. He looked after them for their entire lives. They owed it to him to do the same now that he was the one who needed protection.

Meanwhile, Soundwave probed the bond to see whether or not Video Error would continue to let him in now that the danger was over and his son was in his Normal mode. Soundwave searched his son's feelings and found very little. Video Error was deep in thought, but in Normal mode he didn't have many feelings. Soundwave sent a wave of curiosity through the bond to see how Video Error would respond. Video Error looked up at Soundwave and cocked his helm questioningly.

This was getting him nowhere. Soundwave would have to try again when Video Error changed his mode. He wondered briefly if any of the modes had feelings beyond their surface displays.

"Soundwave?" Video Error called up to him softly, "Will Megatron survive?"

"Of course," Soundwave replied stoically, "Megatron: always survives."

That simple answer was enough for Video Error for the moment. He looked back at the warlord's dimming optics and listened to his heavy intakes. Video Error had heard from Thundercracker that Soundwave carried Megatron away from the battlefield. He heard that Megatron had begged Soundwave, not his own SIC Starscream, to not leave his side. That spoke volumes to Video Error about the upstanding character of his father.

His thoughts were interrupted when a voice echoed throughout the room that said "Jettison some weight, or I'll never make it back to Cybertron!"

"Jettison weight? In _space_?" Video Error asked to himself.

"It's...for the landing," Megatron rasped through stalled intakes, "We're too heavy to land...with so little fuel…"

"Fellow Decepticons," Starscream intoned with a barely suppressed smirk on his face plate, "Astrotrain has proposed that we lighten our burden…"

Bonecrusher, one of the Constructicons, heard this and quickly replied with "In that case, I say it's survival of the fittest!"

"Do I hear a second on that?" Starscream asked the crowd of warriors.

"Aye!" Most of the healthy members of the group replied enthusiastically.

"And against?" Starscream asked blithely.

"Nay…" Several weakened Decepticons bleated helplessly.

Soundwave said nothing. It wasn't his style to vote on such things without Megatron's direct input. Since so many powerful Decepticons surrounded him and his sparklings, he decided to sit back and see where this went.

Things became chaotic rather quickly when the injured Decepticons began to be pushed beyond the gravity field generator and out into open space! Several Insecticons pleaded for their lives, too injured to fight back, and Skywarp tried to hold onto the side of the ship to keep from being sucked away by Astrotrain's thrusters! Thundercracker looked at Starscream and growled before saying "You traitor! You would kill your own trine to save yourself?"

Starscream didn't answer the blue jet, and soon Thundercracker, Skywarp, the Insecticons, and their clones were all pushed out into the cold depths of space. Then Starscream turned to his real prize, the prone form of Megatron.

Soundwave wanted to do something to save his leader from this cruel treasonous deceiver, but there were too many stronger mechs on Starscream's side, and his sparklings were aboard the ship. All Soundwave could do was watch as Starscream picked up their leader and carried him to the opening like a load of scrap. Video Error realized too late what was happening, and actually tried to grab Megatron with his one remaining tentacle, but Soundwave pulled him away. Soundwave immediately summoned his cassettes and hid them away from the crew that was seeking to murder anything deemed useless.

"Wait...I still function…" Megatron croaked as he looked up at his SIC.

"Wanna bet?" Starscream quipped callously.

Megatron was thrown overboard, and before the cold depths of space enveloped his words they could all hear him yell " _STARSCREEAAM_!" one last time. Starscream turned back, still clapping the dust from his servos as if he had held something filthy, and smirked at the anxious crowd. Video Error shuddered. He had seen the face of evil this day, and it was dark grey with red optics.

"Well, as Megatron has, how shall we say? _Departed_ ," Starscream said maliciously, "I nominate myself as the new leader!"

"Wait!" Scrapper, the Constructicon leader, interjected, "The Constructicons form Devastator, the most powerful robot! We should rule!"

At this point Soundwave stepped forward with a surprisingly hostile posture and said "Soundwave: superior. Constructicons: inferior."

 _What is he doing?_ Video Error thought to himself in bewilderment. _He doesn't want to be the leader, and he has no problem with the Constructicons. What is going on?_

In truth Video Error was correct. Soundwave didn't want to be leader. His plan was to rally the Decepticons together under his temporary "leadership" so that they could go back and retrieve any survivors. He knew most of the Decepticons dumped overboard were already doomed, but he still held out hope for Megatron. He had to rescue his leader, and if that meant mowing over the Constructicons to do it then so be it.

"Who are you calling inferior?" Scrapper challenged.

"Nobody would follow an uncharismatic bore like you," Hook added bitingly.

At this Soundwave knew they wouldn't back down for him, so he released every cassette from his tape deck to fight with him. What he forgot was that they were likely listening to the conversation…

"Hey! Nobody calls Soundwave uncrassimatic!" Rumble yelled; mispronouncing the unfamiliar word.

"Yeah, let's kick tailgate!" Frenzy added; eager to defend their father's honor.

Solarflare and Freezeframe were ready to fight just like every other cassette. They knew the Constructicons would be tough, but at least in this confined space they would never be stupid enough to merge into-

"Constructicons, unite!" Scrapper ordered, and the six Constructicons became Devastator inside Astrotrain's cargo hold.

" _No way_!" Rumble and Frenzy exclaimed in unison when they saw what the Constructicons were doing.

"Um, Solarflare? About that little red wagon? You don't happen to have one, do you?" Freezeframe asked nervously as he looked up at the hulking monster.

Video Error picked this inconvenient moment to transform into Coward Error and hid behind Ratbat. That wasn't the best idea, because Video Error was taller than the pink Cassetticon, and therefore still visible from his so-called hiding spot. Ratbat was annoyed, and told Video Error to find someplace else to stand, which turned out being huddled in a corner behind his own arms.

Rumble and Frenzy, meanwhile, got a great idea for how to fight Devastator, or more specifically how to _avoid_ fighting Devastator. They began to use their pile drivers on the ground in rapid succession, using the vibrations to shake apart the gestalt so they could no longer stay attached to each other. Sure enough, it worked, and the green and purple Decepticons fell apart right before their optics!

"Hey guys, I'm still driving here!" Astrotrain yelled at the combatants.

Nobody was listening to him, however, as the melee began and every Decepticon that wanted a shot at being the leader began to fight each other for the privilege. All Soundwave wanted was to save Megatron. Whether his cassettes knew or not didn't really matter. All they knew was Soundwave wanted them to fight, and that was what they were going to do.

Video Error, meanwhile, shut off his visor in an effort to make the universe go away. He just wanted some peace and quiet in his life for once. He wanted a safe place to recharge, a father without a dangerous job, siblings that didn't put him in danger, and maybe to live on a planet made of pillows. Yeah, that would be safe. Lots of fluffy pillows…

The Constructicons, Blitzwing, Soundwave and his cassettes, and the Coneheads were all fighting for their chance to be the new leader. Ravage tore into Blitzwing, the twins beat on a couple Constructicons, Solarflare and Freezeframe used their fire and ice blasters on Scrapper and Hook, and Buzzsaw had Thrust's wrist in his talon and was making the red Conehead hit himself in the face over and over again.

Astrotrain wished these idiots would just hurry up and finish fighting. The worst part was that because he was the fragging designated driver he couldn't get in on the fun and try to become the new leader. Maybe next time he should ask all the injured 'Cons to throw out the healthy ones.

In all the confusion of the melee there was one combatant everyone forgot about; namely Starscream. He stood there to the side and watched the fighting take place. He figured there was no point in fighting all of these peons; just the victor. That was how he played it with Megatron, sit back and wait for his moment to strike, and that was what he would do now.

Solarflare's flame died when she ran low on fuel, and she was right in the path of an angry Mixmaster! This Constructicon was known for his dealings with acid and poison chemicals. If she got caught by him, who knew what would happen?

"I g-g-got you now, you trouble-trouble-maker!" Mixmaster stuttered as he cornered the flame painted sparkling.

Just as Mixmaster was about to grab Solarflare, however, he received a very powerful kick to the helm from a flying grey and black projectile! Solarflare had to do a double take as she saw Video Error, orange visor and all, take down Mixmaster alone!

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that!" Solarflare exclaimed approvingly.

"Nobody hurts my sister, slag head!" Anger Error shouted down at an unconscious Mixmaster, "Tell the others!"

Before long the only ones left were Soundwave and a few of his creations. He had won the battle. He could go back and save Megatron!

 _Zap_!

Starscream fired his null ray right at Soundwave's helm and knocked the already exhausted mech out cold! The sparklings and Frenzy looked up at him angrily, but all Starscream said in reply was "I'm sure Astrotrain would land more gracefully without so much _dead weight_. So tell me, _who_ is the leader of the Decepticons?"

They understood the implication. If they challenged Starscream he would throw Soundwave out of the ship, and possibly them as well. With a defeated look on every face plate, they said in unison "You are, Starscream."

"Perfect," Starscream said victoriously.

* * *

"Perfect!" First Aid exclaimed victoriously as he turned off his welding torch.

Phobia had spent the past seven hours in surgery, and there had been a lot of damage both internally and externally, but First Aid managed to stabilize her condition and get her back in full working order.

Inferno, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe sat around the waiting room hoping for news of her condition. Inferno's processor was spinning. His best friend was _dead_. Red Alert was dead and only now did it really sink in that Inferno would never see him again. They had been friends for so long that Inferno had trouble picturing life without Red. Not only that, but now Phobia had no father to take care of her.

Everyone always said it was strange that a gregarious popular mech like Inferno would pick a messed up paranoid 'Bot like Red Alert to be his best friend, but to Inferno it made more sense than anything else he could think of.

Inferno had always had the urge to save people and to protect them. That was why he was built, and that was why he became a member of the fire department both on Cybertron and on earth. Red Alert might have pushed people away with his suspicion and outbursts, but deep down his spark was delicate and he just didn't want to be hurt by others, so he shut himself off from the universe. Inferno saw beyond the surface of Red's accusations and reclusive nature down to the sensitive mech he really was, and Inferno made it his mission to befriend and protect the security officer. They both had a need, one to protect and one to be protected, and they got what they needed from each other.

When Phobia came into the picture Inferno noticed a positive change in Red Alert's attitude toward life. Oh sure, he was still paranoid and distrustful, but with a sparkling to look after Red Alert's fears were suddenly less selfish. He no longer simply cared about who was after his job, but now worried about his little femme's safety. Red Alert poured his spark into raising his daughter, and she became an anchor to keep the security chief grounded when his thoughts would torment him.

Inferno sighed at that thought. Now the link between these two sparks, Red Alert, was no longer in the picture. Inferno wasn't sure what to do. On the surface it seemed obvious. He should adopt Phobia himself so that she wouldn't have to be displaced. It seemed like a great idea. He needed to protect someone, and she needed protection. The problem was Inferno's job. He was a soldier as well as a rescue vehicle. Others relied on him, and he didn't feel comfortable raising a sparkling in such an environment.

Red Alert had been able to care for Phobia because most of his job could be done from his office, but Inferno was always out in the field. The Decepticons had killed a lot of their best officers that day, and they already had control of Cybertron. Taking Phobia to Cybertron was out, and soon it looked like the Decepticons would make a play for earth. Inferno couldn't leave his post, but it wasn't safe for Phobia to live here anymore. He didn't know what to do.

"Hey guys," Sideswipe called out softly; jarring Inferno from his thoughts, "I just got a comm from Springer…" Sideswipe took a deep intake of air to keep from crying; since that wouldn't look very macho, "...Springer just told me...Optimus Prime...is dead."

"Are you kidding?" Sunstreaker asked flatly, "That's impossible. I flew him to the city myself. He was fine, and he kicked Decepticon aft from here to the Atlantic. There's no way he's dead."

"Hot Rod saw the whole thing," Sideswipe continued morosely, "Megatron shot him...with Red Alert's gun. It penetrated his grill and damaged his laser core. His spark couldn't keep functioning unprotected. The only reason he lasted this long was because of the Matrix of Leadership, and he gave it to Ultra Magnus before he died."

"I'll kill Megatron," Sunstreaker growled, "He's taken too many lives already! I can't believe he's been allowed to survive this long! I shouldn't have let Soundwave carry him off like that. That was our chance! I could've terminated him!"

"Why didn't you?" Inferno asked bluntly.

"Because...there was a sparkling," Sunstreaker deflated with those words, "It was Soundwave's kid, and he was terrified. I didn't want to traumatize him any worse than he already will be. That's no excuse though. I still should've done it."

The three just sat there in silence for a while. Sideswipe got up a minute later to pace and Sunstreaker sat with his chin resting on his steepled fingers. Inferno was getting impatient and was close to running through the doors of the operating room when First Aid thankfully walked into the waiting room to talk to them.

"Hey Inferno, good news," First Aid said with a smile, "Phobia is going to make a full recovery. There doesn't seem to be any permanent damage to the spark or the processor. She isn't awake yet, but as soon as she is you can visit her. She'll need to stay for a couple days to make sure the repairs will hold. Honestly, I wasn't sure I would be able to fix her. There was so much damage, but that little femmeling is a real fighter. She pulled through despite the odds."

Inferno actually laughed he was so happy to hear the news. The twins sighed in relief at the news, and Inferno ran up and hugged them; much to Sunstreaker's annoyance. Their celebration was cut short, however, with what First Aid said next.

"Hot Spot was wondering when you guys are going back to Cybertron," First Aid told them, "He says somebody needs to comm the Dinobots and Q-Boom about Wheeljack's passing."

"They got Wheeljack, too?" Sideswipe asked in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so," First Aid replied sadly, "He was found with Windcharger inside the barrier control room. No one knows which Decepticon got them since there were no survivors from that area to tell us."

"What about Ratchet?" Sideswipe asked worried.

"Sideswipe, the Decepticons stole an Autobot shuttle," Inferno reminded him, "The crew manifest was Prowl, Ironhide, Brawn, and Ratchet. There were no survivors."

"No…" Sideswipe said in a small voice that didn't sound like it belonged to the red frontliner.

Sunstreaker, in a rare moment of compassion, hugged his twin brother. They had both cared deeply about the grumpy medic because Ratchet had been one of the first Autobots to show them any consideration when they joined the team. The twins were former gladiators, and everyone was either afraid of them or hated them. Ratchet didn't take their scrap, but he did show them respect and treat them like equal teammates. That was a gift they never quite knew how to repay.

"So, when Phobia wakes up," First Aid asked Inferno, "Where is she going to go?"

Inferno looked stricken by that innocent question, but finally he gathered up enough of himself to say "I don't know."


	25. Power Is Murder

_Author's Notes: Well, I've been really excited to write this chapter since it's scary, sad, and heartwarming all in one. As it turns out though, I probably should've named this chapter Custody Battle: The Musical. Seriously, I put two songs in this chapter and didn't realize it until after the fact! That being said, I still think this turned out pretty well. Thank you for reading, and please review, favorite, and follow :)_

* * *

Chapter 25

Power Is Murder

Cybertron seemed like a very solemn place now that Megatron had been removed and replaced. Starscream was readying himself for his coronation, and the Decepticon forces were all gathered to watch the event take place.

Soundwave was there with his cassettes young and old as well as Video Error. He felt this ceremony was a waste of time and resources. Megatron never needed this level of pomp in order to be respected. Starscream was turning the very idea of leadership into a circus, and it upset Soundwave even if he wouldn't let on.

While they were waiting for the ceremony to begin, Soundwave suddenly felt his spark contract in pain! It felt like a part of him was shifting and burning, and he had to use all of his willpower to not scream in front of the crowd! His cassettes and Video Error could all see his distress and feel it within their own sparks, and it caused Coward Error to emerge again and hide behind Soundwave's leg. As quickly as the pain came however, it was gone, leaving an emptiness in that part of his spark.

"Hey Boss, what happened?" Frenzy asked hesitantly.

"Megatron has been terminated," Soundwave replied; barely a hint of the pain he felt present in his voice, "Loyalty bond: severed."

"Oh, Dad...it took this long for him to die?" Solarflare whispered in horror.

"Affirmative," Soundwave replied without inflection.

"Dad, should we do something to honor Megatron's passing?" Freezeframe asked, "You know, before the coronation?"

Soundwave nodded at his youngest son, and then led his brood away from the crowd. Once they were at the edge of Darkmount's gate Soundwave sat down on the ledge with his creations gathered around him. He knew Starscream would not tolerate a public display of mourning, and frankly Soundwave wasn't the type to publicly grieve anyway, so he would make this quick.

Rather than say anything about Megatron himself, he would allow a song called The Polyhexian Carrier's Funeral Dirge to do the talking for him. It was an ancient song that was played when a carrier's master died, and it seemed appropriate to play it this day. The only surviving recording of the song was sung by a carrier femme named Zetabyte. Soundwave allowed the operatic music to fill the air, and allowed himself and his children to grieve for the loss of a mech that Soundwave considered not only a leader, but also a friend.

 _As I see your spark fade away_

 _My spark go down with you_

 _Though I survive, I have died_

 _Without you, my core is empty_

 _A piece of me left Cybertron when you did_

 _I will enclose your others in my deck_

 _Our family, but my spark is alone_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _My spark…_

 _My spark…_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _My loyalty maker_

 _My closest master_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _I see them scrap your body_

 _I watch them break your processor_

 _Your spark is gone, and so am I_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _Death is final, survival is temporary_

 _I will pass my others along someday_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _My spark…_

 _My spark…_

 _My spark go down this day_

 _My loyalty maker_

 _My closest master_

 _My spark go down this day!_

As soon as the song was over, Soundwave deleted the piece from his memory banks. He knew he would never need to use it again. Even if he would have future leaders, none would truly be a master to him the way Megatron was.

With the makeshift funeral over, Soundwave led his symbiotes and Video Error back to the crowds to witness Starscream's coronation. It seemed he was just in time too, because Ramjet and Astrotrain had just appeared on the stage to announce their new leader.

Starscream walked onto the stage wearing a silk purple cape. He posed for his public and looked to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Astrotrain then placed a gold metal and red glass crown on Starscream's helm, and the Constructicons played trumpets for their new leader. It seemed, however, that the Constructicons were doing this under protest, because they wouldn't quit playing no matter how many times Starscream told them to stop. Finally Starscream grew tired of their ignoring him and he fired his null rays at the trumpets; destroying them!

The coronation seemed to be going off without a hitch (not counting the trumpets), but then, out of nowhere, a group of unusual looking Cybertronians flew onto the veranda, and they seemed intent on making a scene. Soundwave didn't know who these new mechs were, but he could tell already that trouble was brewing.

"Who disrupts my coronation!?" Starscream asked indignantly.

The supposedly leader of this group of troublemakers, a purple mech with three horns, approached Starscream with a look of contempt. He showed no fear of the Decepticons surrounding him, and even Soundwave had to admit to himself that such a level of confidence took ball bearings.

" _Coronation_ , Starscream? This is bad comedy!" Soundwave heard the purple mech shout with a sneer.

Starscream muttered something, but Soundwave couldn't make out what it was. He then saw the new mech transform into a plasma cannon and shoot Starscream! The blast was so powerful that Starscream turned to ashes before he could even comprehend what was happening to him!

The new mech casually walked up to where Starscream's meager remains lay and crushed the crown under his pede! He looked back at the crowd with sharp optics, and everyone was frightened instantly at the darkness in that glare.

"Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?" The purple mech asked the crowd in a challenging tone of voice; as if daring them to step forward.

"What did he say his name was?" Rumble muttered.

The purple mech must have heard Rumble, because he quickly shouted "Galvatron!"

Not missing a beat, every Decepticon shouted "Long live Galvatron! Galvatron!"

Soundwave likewise joined the cheering for their new leader, because he knew that anyone that powerful was not a being to be trifled with. He also knew something else about this situation: he could not afford to keep his sparklings anywhere near such a tyrannical mech. This Galvatron person would likely have no use for sparklings, and Soundwave wasn't about to put them in danger by keeping them there.

The problem was Soundwave was the former third in command. If he left everyone would notice and he would be labeled a traitor. After seeing what happened to Starscream mere moments ago, Soundwave was in no mood to test this new mech's patience. He would have to find a way to sneak them to safety.

That was when Soundwave remembered a Decepticon that owed him a favor. There was a mech named Squalor that lived alone on a moon called Chog. Squalor's job was to monitor radio waves in a desolate part of space and report any Autobot activity back to Megatron. Galvatron likely wouldn't even know about Squalor, so that made his moon the perfect place for his sparklings to hide. Yes, he would send his sparklings to Chog until he could figure out a more permanent solution to their problem.

* * *

Meanwhile, on Chog, Squalor was returning to his small metal shack after mining some energon crystals from a nearby cave for his dinner. He hated his job and had been looking for a way to make a name for himself, but so far had found nothing that would make Megatron happy. It seemed that so long as Megatron was alive he was stuck all alone on this barren rock that only got daylight once every 5 vorns. He grunted at how unfair his life was as he opened the door to his house.

The sight he was greeted by was not what he was expecting. Sitting on his only armchair was a small white femme with fur growing out of her body! She only had one robotic hand (the left one had been severed long ago and welded over) but she also had two useless animal paws. Her yellow optics looked at him with a blank expression, and she slowly stood up to greet him; her face never changing from that expressionless stare. Her height was only about 9 feet tall; not even enough to reach beyond his hip joints. She was as small as a sparkling, but her spark signature read as an adult.

"Hey there, sweet spark," Squalor purred when he got close enough to the creepy femme, "What's a pretty thing like you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I am here because of you," The femme replied stoically, "If time remains unchanged, then you are going to be a powerful mech."

"Oh really?" Squalor asked; intrigued.

"Yes," The femme replied without moving anything other than her mouth, "Galvatron has just taken over the Decepticons. In several stellar cycles he will be replaced by a new leader named Scorponok. That's you, by the way."

"Yeah, I've always liked that name, but I can never get anyone to call me that," Squalor lamented.

"When Galvatron disappears in 8 solar cycles, you will use the opportunity to take over the Decepticons," The femme continued undeterred, "You performed many acts of cruelty during your reign of power. The most significant is when you will destroy Kloryl Colony, a peaceful commune run by retired Autobots. You kill all of the residents, including their leader Inferno and his guards Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. You steal Inferno's sparkling Phobia and upgrade her against her will; forcing her to be your bonded. You conquered many planets, and garnered the respect of Decepticons everywhere."

Squalor was confused by the way the femme kept switching from past tense to present tense to future tense. It seemed as if she was actually having trouble keeping up with what time period it was. Besides that though, he did enjoy her tale of his eventual success and leadership.

"That all sounds pretty good, if it's true," Squalor replied with a satisfied smile on his face plate.

"I'm not finished," The femme replied with muted irritation, "Your rule lasted for 8 vorns, and then you were killed. It all happened when you accused your femme of siphoning your troops in an effort to aid the Autobots. You accused her of treason, and cut off her servos; the only means she had to feed herself. You were then killed by your second in command, an unstable triple changer named System Error. It was actually quite brutal. He held you down and jammed his tentacles between your neck cables and down into your fuel tanks; punching you from the inside out until you eventually lost too much energon. He made everyone watch, and it took you a long time to finally offline. He ordered the medic to save your femme's life instead of yours, and then he took her for his own. His rule led to an era of cautious peace between Autobots and Decepticons, but then Maximals and Predacons became more numerous and accused larger models of wasting energon. System Error, rather than be reprogrammed, ran away with his followers and was never seen again."

"So what, you're here to tell me not to try to become more powerful?" Squalor asked skeptically.

"No, I am here to kill you to prevent this future from happening," The femme replied ominously.

Squalor was at first terrified, but then angry at this femme that dared to threaten him in his own home! He took out a sword and held it firmly in front of him. He waited for the femme to make her next move, but instead all she did was tilt her helm and open her mouth. At first he thought she glitched or went offline, but then he felt his body begin to vibrate and expand, and before he fully understood what was happening he had busted apart and his remains scattered all over the floor!

"Joey, Stranglor: come out now," The femme ordered, "I need you to help me clean up this mess."

The symbiotes burst out of her pouch and transformed into their beast/robot modes. They looked at the energon coating the walls and floor as well as the little shards of what had once been Squalor, and Joey purged!

"Carrier...Did you really...?" Stranglor asked in a muted voice.

"Yes, I did," The femme replied quietly, "I have never killed before today. I do not like this feeling."

"Then why did you do it, Carrier?" Joey asked in confusion.

"Because it was personal," The femme replied, "I don't like our future, and now it will be different. You know, your sire dealt with a similar problem concerning the time stream. He was willing to give his life for a better future. Sometimes, I do not feel worthy of the life I live now."

"You mean you're not worthy of being a nomadic fugitive with goofy ears and a pouch?" Stranglor asked half-jokingly.

"Very funny," The femme deadpanned, "Just help me clean this up. It doesn't seem right to leave him like this."

The two egg-formers sighed in complaint, but did as they were asked anyway. They had never seen a body this mutilated before, and their carrier had never personally killed anyone before. It was a lot to get used to, and unbeknownst to them they were about to have company on the moon called Chog.

* * *

Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe were riding inside Blitzwing's jet mode through the depths of space. Soundwave at first was going to take the sparklings to Chog himself, but his presence would be noticed, so he ordered Blitzwing to do it. Blitzwing wasn't mean to the sparklings, but he also didn't talk to them, so they spent most of the trip communicating over their comm systems about what they thought this Squalor guy would be like.

They all wondered when and if their father would return for them. They didn't understand why they couldn't just stay with Soundwave and serve their new leader. Galvatron might be tough, but they all knew they could be tough too. Anger Error was especially fragged off at being sent away instead of being allowed to fight, and he punched Blitzwing's controls a few times and nearly sent them off course.

After several joors they finally made it to Chog. Blitzwing let them off, but then the sparklings noticed he was about to take off and leave them without meeting their new caretaker.

"Wait! Where do you think _you're_ going?" Solarflare demanded to know.

"Back to Cybertron," Blitzwing replied hurriedly, "I've been getting some weird radio chatter. Something about Unicron."

"What's Unicron?" Solarflare asked.

"That is the planet eater," Freezeframe supplemented, "He is considered to be the ultimate evil in most Cybertronian cultures."

Before Solarflare could ask any more questions Blitzwing flew away; leaving a cloud of smoke in his wake. Now the three sparklings were all alone and needed to find the cabin where Squalor lived.

They began walking north through the dark dusty landscape. They would see purple mountains in the distance and lots of stars in the sky, but the land itself was just dry lifeless purple soil. Solarflare complained because it was terrestrial and organic, and Freezeframe stuck close to Video Error since their brother's mood changed every few minutes and they needed to stick together no matter what. At least this way if Crazy Error or Playful Error showed up Freezeframe could keep him from getting lost.

After three joors of walking their energon was getting low and they needed to refuel. Fortunately by this time they could see the shack in the distance. The sparklings ran the rest of the way in hopes that Squalor would feed them something good. Maybe he would even have sparkling grade already mixed for them!

Just then Video Error's visor turned yellow, and Coward Error stopped running just before getting to the door! He found a boulder half as tall as he was and hid behind it; trembling as if something horrible was after him.

"Video Error, why did you stop?" Freezeframe asked while Solarflare continued to run toward the cabin.

"Don't you smell that, Freezeframe?" Video Error asked as he huddled further into himself.

"Smell what?" Freezeframe asked.

Before Video Error could answer him, the mechlings heard an audial-piercing scream coming from inside the shack! It was Solarflare! Freezeframe ran inside the shack, but Video Error was too scared so he stayed behind the rock.

Freezeframe ran inside expecting something horrible, and saw Solarflare standing at the threshold staring down at an energon stained floor with no sign of Squalor anywhere.

"Solarflare, are you alright?" Freezeframe asked as he put his hand on her shoulder to keep her steady.

"No, I'm not alright you fragger!" Solarflare snapped, "That's energon residue. It only happens when a dead frame leaks. Somebody was killed in here, and I can't find anyone, so it was probably Squalor! Ugh, and that decaying energon smell! Yuck! There's something dangerous around here, but Dad said there was nothing and nobody on this planet except Squalor! What's _going on_!?"

"It was probably a contract killing. Possibly an Autobot," Freezeframe reasoned, "We need to check for energon to sustain ourselves, and then we need to take inventory. This is the only structure on the planet, and until further notice it is our home."

"No! I'm not staying here!" Solarflare shouted; afraid for one of the first times in her young life, "We don't know what did this, and it could come back! It could still be in the area. Our dad isn't here to protect us, there are no Autobots or Decepticons or anything, and no one is coming to this moon base for a very long time! We're alone, and we have to look out for each other. I say we take whatever energon we can find and then find a new place to call shelter."

"And who precisely made you leader?" Freezeframe asked as he crossed his arms over his chassis.

"I did!" Solarflare proclaimed, "Of course if you want to challenge me, we'll just see how well ice does against flame cannons..."

"Um...I concede to your leadership," Freezeframe begrudgingly replied, "I'll grab some energon. You go check on Video Error."

"Fine, and you better get it all!" Solarflare ordered before running outside to find that Video Error had not left his spot.

* * *

The sparklings had eaten the few precious energon crystals they found in the shack quickly, and then took off heading west. They walked for 5 straight joors toward the mountains they saw on the horizon, and by the time the young Decepticons made it to where they were going they were all very tired and hungry again.

Video Error was in Normal mode at the moment, which was at least one blessing the twins were grateful for. Still, they both stuck close to him just in case he decided to _turn_ on them, so to speak.

The mountains they had seen earlier were, in fact, flat spires that looked pointy on top and gave the illusion of a climbable surface, but in fact were just naturally occurring walls. Realizing this was not where Squalor found his energon, the sparklings sighed in weariness and defeat. They just wanted to rest, but if they tried to recharge now there was no telling whether or not they would wake up. Besides, there could still be a murderer out there. They had to keep moving.

They walked along the side of the rock wall for a few breems, and then Solarflare found something: a cave mouth! There was a cave, and a cave meant a possible energon deposit! The three sparklings wasted no time in running into the cave and hoping for the best.

It didn't take them long to find purple crystals of 53% pure energon. It wasn't much, but it was good enough for sparkling grade. As they stared at the beautiful crystals they realized something; none of them knew how to refine energon. Solarflare growled when she realized they would have to eat raw crystals again. The crystals didn't last nearly as long as refined energon, and they tasted like...well, like rocks.

"I can't believe Dad left us out here to starve…" Solarflare grumbled before she started crunching on a crystal.

"This isn't Dad's fault," Freezeframe reminded her, "How was he supposed to know Squalor had been murdered?"

"What are we going to _do_?" Solarflare wailed in despair.

"Shh!" Video Error harshly shushed her, "Be quiet. I hear something."

The sparklings stopped everything they were doing and listened. It sounded like a voice, but it was faint. Video Error transformed into tape deck mode so he could amplify the sound with his recording equipment. When he did, the sparklings heard a melodious feminine voice singing.

 _You came down slashing with your platinum claws_

 _You sliced through the foe, you gnawed with your jaws_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

 _Protect us our sparklings, our femmes and our mechs_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

 _You sniffed at the air and located your prey_

 _You found the intruder and you won the day_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

 _Protect us our sparklings, our femmes and our mechs_

 _Protect the people of Helex_

The song was sung with the solemn reverence of a hymn and the love of a lullaby. Video Error transformed back into robot mode and looked at his siblings. They had a choice to make; find the source of the singing or stay where they were.

"We should check it out," Solarflare declared, "That voice said Helex. Helex means the voice is Cybertronian."

"Cybertronian doesn't automatically mean friendly," Freezeframe pointed out, "It could be an Autobot come to snatch us away again, or the murderer of Squalor."

"It's a _femme_ ," Solarflare rolled her optics, "How dangerous can a femme be?"

"You are a femme, and you are quite dangerous," Freezeframe pointed out.

"Oh, right. Never mind," Solarflare replied with a sheepish smile.

Before they could argue the point further, however, Video Error was already walking in the direction of the singing. The cassette twins, not wanting to be left behind, followed Video Error.

When they made it to the source of the femme's voice, they found a large enclosure of the cave that had very few energon crystals and a hole that looked like it had once contained a liquid substance eons ago. That made the area look darkened but not completely black. There was a small white femme sitting on the ground with two even smaller mechs resting comfortably in her lap as she rocked them soothingly.

"Don't go any closer to her," Freezeframe whispered to his siblings, "I detect traces of dead energon on her frame. I believe this is Squalor's killer."

" _That_? Seriously?" Solarflare scoffed as she pointed to the femme, "She's only as big as Video Error. How much of a threat could she be?"

"Rumble and Frenzy are-" Freezeframe started to say.

"Oh, alright I get it!" Solarflare yelled, but then realized too late that the femme heard them.

The femme turned her helm toward the three sparklings, but made no attempt to get up. Video Error, still in Normal mode, realized that he had seen this femme before.

"You tried to contact Laserbeak," Video Error said to her, "Why?"

"It does not matter now," The femme replied without inflection, "Optimus Prime and his closest allies have died. I failed to stop it. How is Laserbeak?"

"He's fine," Video Error replied as he walked over to where the femme was sitting and sat down with her; much to his siblings' horror, "If I may ask, did you kill Squalor?"

"Yes, I did," The femme replied without remorse, "Please speak quietly. My symbiotes are recharging. They've had a long day, though it looks like you have fared even worse."

"We can't refine energon," Video Error admitted, "The crystals won't last long."

"I can help you," The femme replied, "You will need to wait until I can get the boys in egg-mode, but then I will make sparkling grade for you and your siblings. Make sure they recharge in your tape deck tonight so they don't get sick out in the elements."

"Yes, ma'am," Video Error replied politely, "So, why did you kill Squalor."

"If I did not kill him, you would have," The femme replied evasively, "Trust me young one, I did you a favor. Now, why are you here on Chog? I knew nothing about this."

"Our father doesn't want us near the new Decepticon leader," Video Error explained.

"That is quite foolish," The femme replied, "You need your father. Every little sparkling should be with their parents as long as they possibly can be. When you grow up, you will cherish the times you spent with him as well as with your siblings."

"What was that song?" Video Error asked; changing the subject, "We heard you singing a song about Helex, but I've never heard it before."

"It is a Predacon folk song," The femme explained, "My bondmate taught it to me. He was from Helex. You've never heard it because it hasn't been written yet. My bondmate came from the future."

"Do you come from the future too?" Video Error asked curiously.

"No," The femme replied, "Although I have been through so many different periods of time the very concept has lost all meaning for me. I tend to measure time in what I've lost and what I've gained. I have gained my symbiotes. I have lost everything else. I must admit, you are a very nice sparkling. I expected you to be mean, but I don't think you are."

"Only in my Anger mode," Video Error replied with a shrug, "So, what is your name?"

"Call me Bitten," The femme replied stoically.

" _Bitten_?" Solarflare suddenly interjected from behind a stalagmite, "What kind of a name is Bitten?"

"It comes from an adage," Bitten replied, "Once bitten, twice shy."

"Humph! It's still a stupid name," Solarflare groused as she and Freezeframe walked closer to Video Error and the strange femme.

"Careful young lady," Bitten chided in a monotone voice, "I'm your only protector until we can get you and your siblings back to Soundwave. Don't worry though, I will take you back to him."

"Why would you help us?" Freezeframe inquired.

"Because I have a soft spot for sparklings," Bitten replied, "Even mean ones."

"So where do you live?" Solarflare asked.

"On earth's moon," Bitten told them, "I was asleep there for 3 million years. I have seen a lot in my time. Enough to realize I was safer away from other life forms. My only regret is that my symbiotes have no friends. Other than that, we live a contented and simple life. Maybe someday, I will return to the land of the living."

Suddenly a sharp wind blew through the cave mouth from a storm above ground, and the sparklings huddled together for warmth. Bitten placed her symbiotes with them, and then prepared some refined energon for them. Bitten knew she had to wait at least another 2 orns before they could travel. Unicron wouldn't be defeated until then, and the belly of a monster was no place for sparklings.


	26. Homecoming

_Author's Notes: This is a chapter I've had planned for a while. This is basically the end of Bitten's story arc, though she might be mentioned again every now and then. Also, this chapter has a lot of fluff thanks to Phobia. Then again, what did you expect? Phobia is pretty much fluff personified. After this more of the story will be dedicated to Soundwave's sparklings and their time among the new (and not improved) Decepticons. Thank you for continuing to read this fic. Please review :)_

* * *

Chapter 26

Homecoming

Video Error, Freezeframe, and Solarflare spent their time in the cave playing, drinking refined energon, and getting to know Joey and Stranglor. Soundwave's sparklings were surprised to learn Bitten's symbiotes were, biologically, only 2 vorns old; the same age as Solarflare and Freezeframe. Joey was outgoing and loved to play, while Stranglor was a more serious minded and cautious mechling. The five of them quickly became friends.

Bitten, meanwhile, rarely spoke to any of them. When she wasn't refining energon for the sparklings she would just stand and stare at them, or sit and stare at them, or lay down and stare up at the cave ceiling. Video Error was especially creeped out by this behavior, since Bitten didn't even speak to her own sparklings very often. She just stared.

Finally, Bitten had announced to them that they would leave the cave in 4 joors to go back to the Decepticons. The sparklings were so happy that they celebrated by playing tag and then chugging the energon like they were adults drinking high grade. Even Crazy Error had fun when he started throwing rocks into the lake and then chasing after them like a dog playing fetch with itself. It was a happy evening filled with promise, but that did make the sparklings curious about something...

"Bitten," Solarflare addressed the femme for the first time since they first met, "Are you going to join us and serve Galvatron? You are a Predacon after all."

"I am not a...Predacon," Bitten corrected her.

"Yes you are, you said so," Freezeframe argued, though his voice remained impassive.

"No, I said my late bondmate was a Predacon," Bitten explained, "My subspecies is called Maximal. They do not exist yet. You see, in the future a faction will be more than a mere alliance. Predacon and Maximal are both races of Cybertronian. The allegiance can change, but the body cannot. If one is built as a Maximal, then one will always look like a Maximal. The same is true of Predacons. I was not always a Maximal though. I used to be a simple carrier. I could not survive that way though, so I had to choose a side and allow them to rebuild me. The experience was...difficult on me."

"Are the Maximals nice?" Video Error, in his Normal mode, asked.

"They are, for the most part," Bitten replied with a face that indicated there was more to the story.

"You're thinking about Rattrap, aren't you?" Joey snickered, "He was, _is_ , um, _will be_ a Maximal, and he was also a certified jerk. He could trace his ancestry all the way back to the Ark. Apparently he was related to a mech named Huffer."

Bitten sighed, the first hint of emotion they had seen from her in over an orn, and went back to the energon refinery machine to collect more sparkling grade for the others.

"So what did you do with the Maximals?" Solarflare asked excitedly, "Did you spy for them? Were you a saboteur? A communications officer? A frontliner? A scout? A grunt? A medic? A scientist? A-"

" _Stop_!" Freezeframe exclaimed, "Give her time to answer."

"I was a...veterinarian," Bitten replied placidly.

"What's that mean?" Solarflare asked obliviously.

"In order to prevent the timeline from being corrupted too badly, animals that were damaged in battle needed to be repaired. That was my job," Bitten explained, "I was not willing to fight the Predacons, and my team understood. They didn't always like my decision, but I knew they would not kill me for it. I loved my work, especially getting to spend all day with animals. I have always preferred the company of animals to Cybertronians. It's just...easier."

"Carrier, the timeline is already changed. Why can't we join Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe?" Joey asked pleadingly, "I wanna be a Decepticon!"

"No, you don't," Bitten replied flatly, "Never choose a faction if you can help it. You will only get hurt. We are going back where we belong."

"The moon again?" Stranglor whined, "But there's nobody there!"

"No, we are going back _where we belong_ ," Bitten replied vaguely, "Just trust me. Sparklings, walk with me. We are leaving now. Joey, grab the energon."

"Yes, Carrier," Joey replied; disappointed.

"Do you hate Decepticons?" Freezeframe asked, "Is that why you won't join us?"

"No. I don't hate anyone. I tried hating once, but it was a waste of time and a drain on my system," Bitten replied matter-of-factly.

The sparklings left the cave with their fur-covered guide. They were a little less afraid of Bitten, but they still weren't sure if they could trust her. They knew they would miss Joey and Stranglor though, since the Decepticon army didn't really have sparklings left to speak of. It was just another sad fact they would have to get used to.

* * *

The war with Unicron had been hard won, and there were many casualties on Cybertron as well as the moon bases. In fact, the moon bases had been eaten! Rodimus Prime was the freshly appointed leader of his world, and he was not prepared for everything that entailed. He was just grateful Ultra Magnus was with him helping him along.

Rodimus wanted to hurry up and finish his appointments. He was going to lunch in Iacon with Ultra Magnus and Springer, and felt he could really use the break between paperwork, diplomacy meetings, and reassigning Autobots to various tasks that needed completion.

There was a knock on the door and Rodimus sighed before opening it. Inferno was standing at the door with a determined look on his face plate. That look rarely spelled good news for the new Prime. He didn't know Inferno very well, but he did remember from his service record that he was assigned to surveillance and fire rescue.

"Rodimus, I hope this ain't a bad time," Inferno greeted him politely but sat down anyway; indicating he didn't really care if it was a bad time or not, "I need to talk to you about something important."

"I'm all audials," Rodimus replied as he set aside a data pad, "What's on your processor?"

"Hot Rod, uh, I mean Rodimus, I hate to do this to you, but I'm announcing my retirement," Inferno told him resolutely, "I'm taking my pension and moving away from Cybertron."

"I see," Rodimis replied; keeping a neutral expression, "Would you mind telling me why?"

"Well sir, my best friend Red Alert died during the attack on Autobot City," Inferno explained, "And he left behind a young sparkling. Not even 2 vorns old yet. She doesn't have anyone else, so I have to take her in. I don't think my job is safe enough to guarantee I'd get to come home every orn, and she needs stability. She also needs to live someplace safe, and I don't think Cybertron is a safe place to raise a sparkling. So, I'm taking what I've earned and moving to Kloryll Colony. I won't even be the only Autobot there. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe live there too, and the colony is growing every orn."

"Of course it's growing," Rodimus replied sardonically, "Now that the war's over everybody is retiring. Nobody wants to live on Cybertron anymore. We need mechs like you to help us make this planet a thriving and beautiful place to live again."

"I'm sorry, but my mind's made up," Inferno reiterated stubbornly, "Phobia deserves better than living in fear and wondering if her guardian is coming home at night. She's taking Red's death real hard. She needs me, and I wanna be there for her. I hope things go well for Cybertron, but my home ain't on a planet; it's in my spark with that little femmeling."

"Fine," Rodimus conceded, and then transferred Inferno's money to his account, "I guess I would feel the same way. Personally I don't envy you. I love kids, but I don't think I'd be a very good dad."

"Neither would I," Inferno replied with a wan smile, "But I'm not her dad; I'm her uncle. I love Phobia, but I could never take Red's place. Thanks for your support, sir. I know you've got a big role to fill, and you're replacing a beloved mech, but I think you can do it."

"No, I can't," Rodimus shook his helm, "I can't replace Optimus Prime any more than you can replace Red Alert. All I can do is take this one orn at a time."

"Ain't it the truth," Inferno drawled as he shook his helm sympathetically.

The two mechs parted on good terms, and then Inferno went out into the waiting room where Phobia was still sitting in her chair and kicking her legs back and forth because they didn't touch the ground.

"How'd it go, Uncle Inferno?" Phobia asked as she looked up at him.

"Just fine, sparklet," Inferno replied with a warm smile, "I'm officially retired. We can go to Kloryll Colony and enjoy the rest of our lives. You excited, sweet spark?"

"Um, I guess," Phobia replied hesitantly, "I've been doing a lot of thinking while you were making business with Rodimus Prime, and I know what I want to do when I upgrade."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Inferno asked as he bent down to look her in the optic.

"I want to open up my very own foundling home," Phobia declared, "A good one. A place where sparklings could be happy and safe. A place where caretakers will work with parents to find their perfect sparkling. It wouldn't be like the yucky place where I came from. I could use my life to help people instead of making more war."

"You know something sparklet? That's a good idea," Inferno replied, "In fact, why wait? We could open one right now on Kloryll Colony! I've got the money, and we've got the time. We could work together to help rescue dozens of poor displaced sparklings!"

"Already? But isn't that kind of fast?" Phobia asked cautiously.

"Are you kidding? It's millions of years slower than it should've been!" Inferno cried out joyfully as he picked up Phobia and hugged her, "Just think sparklet, we could change hundreds of lives for the better!"

It was impulsive, something Phobia wasn't used to seeing when she lived with her father, but Inferno wasn't like Red Alert. When he saw someone in need he never gave a second thought (or even a first thought) to helping them out.

"Uncle Inferno? Can I name it?" Phobia asked, "The foundling home, I mean. Can I name it, please?"

"Of course, sweet spark. It was your idea!" Inferno chuckled, "What do you wanna call it?"

"Um..." Phobia whispered names as if trying them out before she finally said, "I wanna call it the Red Honey Byte Foundling Home. It's named after my daddy, Honey Venom, and Terrabyte."

"That's a great idea, sparklet," Inferno replied warmly, "If I might make a suggestion though, the Red Honey Byte _Memorial_ Foundling Home."

"Neat!" Phobia exclaimed as she reached up to hug Inferno's face, but then her optics went wide with embarrassment as she said, "Uh-oh, my suckers are stuck to your face. Um, as long as they're there anyway, can I feed?"

"Okay..." Inferno replied nervously, "Just don't leave a scar, sparklet."

Phobia giggled and Inferno laughed as they made their way out of the new Prime's HQ. Inferno turned into a fire truck, Phobia turned into a hearse, and they drove away talking all about their great new idea to help orphans on Kloryll Colony.

* * *

Soundwave could sense the spark bond even before he saw them. Since the defeat of Unicron by the Autobots, the Decepticons had been living on Charr. Cyclonus was their official leader now, but he had gone off to search for Galvatron; leaving the rest of the Decepticons to starve and fight among themselves. So, in reality, there was no leader and barely a faction left.

Without energon it seemed that those banished to Charr were just going to fade away into oblivion. Soundwave knew for this reason that he was right to send his sparklings away to live with Squalor on that distant moon. If only he had sent his other cassettes away. He feared for their lives, as it seemed that the remaining Decepticons were ready to destroy each other for a chance at energon.

Now though, Soundwave could sense it. His sparklings were returning to him, to this accursed ball of battered rock. Soundwave was beside himself with grief and worry. Why would Squalor bring back his sparklings? Why would he doom them to die with their father? Was there a chance Soundwave could convince him to take them back?

A small silver ship, shaped like a floating CD, docked on Charr. The other Decepticons eyed it hungrily; hoping it contained energon for them. Soundwave shooed them away; knowing it was Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe.

The ship opened, and his sparklings ran out and immediately grabbed onto his leg for comfort. He sent waves of support through the bond as well as an unspoken question that they already knew he would ask. They all three looked up at him, their visors filled with longing and hope, and he ran his hands along the tops of their helms to soothe them.

The Decepticons watched as a small white femme exited the ship holding a stack of energon cubes of various grades. Motormaster was the first one to step in front of her.

"Alright sweet spark, give me them energon cubes!" Motormaster demanded.

"These are for Soundwave," Bitten replied; seemingly unconcerned by Motormaster's presence, "They are...A debt."

"Explanation: required," Soundwave replied; his monotone voice barely giving a hint to the extent of his confusion.

"I killed Squalor. I'm not sorry," Bitten replied flatly, "However, I have inconvenienced you. For that, I am sorry. These cubes are of a very low grade; suitable for sparklings. Take them now so I can leave debt free."

"Hold it!" Motormaster boomed as he grabbed Bitten by the arm, "I want energon! If you don't give it to me I'll take it from your fuel lines!"

Bitten's eyes widened at the threat, but a split second later they narrowed in concentration. She let out a high-pitched squealing bark that broke Motormaster's optics, and once he let go she ran back to her ship and left as quickly as she came. Motormaster was left rubbing his sore face plate, and Soundwave was left to care for his sparklings on a desolate planet with only a few stacks of energon to feed his entire family.

Of course, Bitten knew that Galvatron would be back in two earth days, and that then the factional crusade would begin anew. Soundwave, however, believed that cold-sparked femme had doomed them all to slowly perish.

* * *

Phobia finally told Inferno about the newsparks she had been keeping for Honey Venom, and how Q-Boom had her own stash that she and Cosmos were caring for. He now understood why a foundling home was so important to Phobia. She knew that soon enough there would be new orphans.

He didn't waste time. He ordered supplies from Cybertron, and enlisted Sunstreaker and Sideswipe to help him build the large facility required to house two dozen sparklings. They would expand soon, he told Phobia, but for now this was all the land they could afford.

Ultra Magnus, Arcee, The Protectobots, and Bumblebee soon came to help with construction. Inferno's new neighbors on Kloryll Colony also insisted on helping. It was truly a labor of love. It had only been 10 orns since the idea was conceived, and the building was already halfway finished.

"I can't believe this monstrosity is going to be right across the street from us," Sunstreaker complained, "Soon it's going to be filled with a bunch of screaming little brats."

"I know, isn't it great?" Sideswipe replied with a goofy grin, "Soon this place with be a prankster's paradise! Just think of all the naughty kids running around gluing shock buzzers to chairs and writing curse words on the walls. It's a dream come true!"

Even though Inferno worried about Phobia working in Kloryll's cold atmosphere, she was insistent that she wanted to help. So, every orn she would wake up early, gather energon, and bring it out to the work crews. Ultra Magnus even taught her how to properly work a rivet gun. She found that she liked the stability and calm that Ultra Magnus personified. She hoped she could be that calm and collected someday. She didn't like that for most of her life she had been a scaredy rat (or whatever they were called), and that when she tried to be strong she wasn't. Yes, she would learn how to be calm and strong from the brave adults all around her. She wouldn't give up.

On this orn the crews were working on wiring so the building could have electricity and heat. The work was going steadily and everyone seemed to enjoy each other's company. That was interrupted when Bumblebee shouted "Hey guys, what's that up in the sky?"

Everyone looked, and they saw a ship. That wasn't unusual. Ships came and went from Kloryll Colony all the time. What made this ship suspicious was the shape: a disk. The Autobot spy stationed on Charr told them about a strange femme that killed Squalor and injured Motormaster. They ran her face through Teletran 2 and figured out it was the same femme that contacted Ultra Magnus before the attack on Autobot City. Her name was Bitten, and she was considered unarmed yet dangerous.

"Should we fire on that ship?" Streetwise asked Ultra Magnus.

"Perhaps," Ultra Magnus said guardedly; still looking up at the ship.

" _No_!" Sunstreaker suddenly screamed, "Don't fire!"

"Sunny, have you lost your mind?" Sideswipe asked, "You heard the reports. That femme is a Bot killer! Some even think she might've worked for Unicron!"

Sunstreaker wasn't listening anymore. He was carefully watching the ship to see where it would land; his hand clutched to his chassis as if he were having a spark attack. Ultra Magnus tried to step in front of Sunstreaker to ask if he was alright, but Sunstreaker pushed Ultra Magnus out of the way and started running toward the ship! Everyone else was curious as to what the golden frontliner would do, so they ran behind him.

Sunstreaker ran with all his might to the ship; his spark aching in a way he hadn't felt in years. The door opened, and the furry femme stood in its doorway with an impassive look on her face plate. That impassive look quickly changed to surprise when she saw how close Sunstreaker was to her ship.

The Autobots watched as Sunstreaker grabbed the femme. They at first thought he was trying to subdue her, but then they quickly realized he was actually _hugging_ her! They didn't know what was going on, and they feared the femme was using some sort of processor-control on him.

Sunstreaker continued to hold her, as if letting go would make her disappear, and for one of the only times in his life coolant ran down his optics as he cried tears of joy. The femme didn't move at first, but then slowly put her arms around Sunstreaker as well.

"Terrabyte..." Sunstreaker whispered into her shoulder as he clutched her tighter, "I'm _so_ sorry. Terrabyte..."

"You're not even going to ask about the ears, are you?" Bitten asked drolly, "I missed you...Sunstreaker."

Sunstreaker finally pulled away and wiped the fluid from his optics. He looked at her, really _looked_ , for the first time since she landed.

"You're a couple feet taller," Sunstreaker remarked, "Also, you look like a rabbit."

"Actually, I transform into a kangaroo," Terrabyte explained, "It's a long story. I'll tell you later. Would you like to meet your...grand-creations?"

Sunstreaker was speechless. He had no idea how this happened. His daughter wasn't dead, she was an adult that turned into an animal, and she had sparklings of her own. It was a lot to take in. He didn't know quite what to say, so he said the first thing that came to mind.

"Slag yes, I do," Sunstreaker replied with a wide smirk.


	27. Child Soldiers

_Author's Notes: So much to say...where to begin? Well, first of all I decided to bring Terrabyte back for this chapter to (sort of) explain how she managed to survive the end of "You Will Care For Me". I'm actually planning another installment in this alternate universe focusing on Terrabyte's adventures in the Beast Wars continuity, but I'm not going to post it unless this fic hits 10,000 views so I know people still care about this continuity. This fic is already at over 6,500 so it's possible. For the rest of this fic though I'm going to focus more on Soundwave's sparklings as well as some time for Q-Boom because I still have a subplot involving her. Thank you so much for reading "Custody Battle", and I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

* * *

Chapter 27

Child Soldiers

Months had passed since the sparklings had been returned to Soundwave. A lot had transpired since then, and most of it was miserable. The good news was that they didn't starve on Charr, but the bad news was practically everything else.

The biggest headache for Soundwave was the new chain of command; more specifically _how_ _low_ he was on the new chain of command. Galvatron had returned from what had seemed like certain death to lead the Decepticons once more. He didn't exactly inspire confidence before, but when Cyclonus and Scourge brought him back Galvatron had completely fried his processor, and now he was an unpredictable and crazed tyrant.

The other problem for Soundwave was that Galvatron trusted his own mechs more than the Decepticons as a whole. Cyclonus was SIC, but most of the time it felt like he was the actual leader. Scourge occupied Soundwave's former position of TIC, and it seemed like the fourth position was reserved for everyone else.

To be fair, Soundwave respected Cyclonus. Most mechs would only keep a compromised leader in command to be the power behind the figurehead, but Cyclonus genuinely cared about Galvatron's welfare and believed in the power and ability of his leader. It was sad in a way, Soundwave mused. Cyclonus could only see the dynamic figure Galvatron had been, but not the senile psychotic mech he had become. Somehow Soundwave couldn't see the irony in these thoughts given how devoted he had been to Megatron despite his numerous failures.

Sometimes Soundwave wondered about their origins. No one had ever heard of these mechs before Starscream's 'coronation'. Had they known each other for a long time? Had Megatron known of them? Were they even natives of Cybertron? These questions and more would wander through Soundwave's processor when he tried to recharge. Of course, these idle thoughts would often give way to more immediate concerns; specifically the safety of his sparklings.

Soundwave had never cared about rank in his career, but now that he was so low in rank and part of an unfamiliar command chain he began to see the problems it posed. Megatron had protected his sparklings and even aided in upgrading Video Error to a triple changer. Galvatron, however, only saw the sparklings as more soldiers in his ranks. He didn't care how young they were or how limited their fighting skills. He ordered that they would be trained to fight or be killed for their uselessness. Soundwave had no choice but to comply.

The other major problem came in the form of the Quintessons; an alien race that had betrayed Galvatron and the Decepticons, and who were actively plotting the termination of all Cybertronians. The Quintessons were trouble no matter how one looked at the situation, but there was one feature about them that caused personal problems for Soundwave's family: the Quintessons had five faces.

Those evil beings had five faces to indicate their emotional range, and they had slim tendrils in place of servos. The Decepticons were quick to see the similarities of the Quintessons to Video Error, and the poor sparkling had been a virtual pariah ever sense.

Normal Error and Coward Error were both smart enough to stick close to Soundwave rather than venture off and face the wrath of the hateful bullies among the Decepticon forces. Anger Error would start fights and often get scrapped for it, and then Soundwave would have to diligently repair his son. Random Error and Playful Error were both naive and would bother the other Decepticons; usually resulting in more injuries. To combat this the cassettes would try to keep him occupied, with varying degrees of success.

The Decepticons were on a desolate asteroid on this particular orn collecting energon crystals. They were fortunate to find this small cashe before the Autobots, but to be fair the Autobots were able to refine their own energon on Cybertron and its dependent colonies, so why would they need a dinky asteroid anyway?

This was another thing that bothered Soundwave. The Decepticons were nomads forced to forge for fuel to survive while the Autobots had rebuilt their dead world and were now forming alliances with other alien races. It was easy to feel hatred and jealousy toward the Autobots that stole their world, but Soundwave couldn't quite see it that way. While it was true the Autobots would try a lot of them as war criminals if they came back, they could probably talk their way to a light sentence and a chance to return home.

No, what was really holding them all back was fear of Galvatron and Cyclonus. These mechs were the ones that insisted the Decepticons had to continue to fight a war that was already over. The Decepticons couldn't overthrow them, however. These mechs were way more powerful than the others on their worst day, and factoring in how the Decepticon forces were starving and it became clear that there was no way they could win against Galvatron.

Soundwave had even more reason then the rest of them to stay, however. He had a family, and leaving the Decepticons meant he and his sparklings would be hunted down and killed by a mob of betrayed former allies. No, even without Megatron in the picture he didn't want to risk that. Soundwave had no choice but to stay where he was and hope his progeny weren't killed in battle or by an angry Galvatron.

* * *

It was the first time in months Cosmos had returned to Cybertron with Q-Boom. They had a lot of plans for the day since so many of their friends and family were down there. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Terrabyte were on the planet to visit Blaster and his symbiotes, so Q-Boom would have a chance to see her old friend again while Cosmos visited Blaster. Q-Boom had heard about Terrabyte's return shortly after it happened, but she and Cosmos had been too far away from Kloryll to visit. Now she would get to see her old Sigma Sister once again.

Cosmos was in for some changes as well. During the battle on the Quintessons home world nearly a year ago the Dinobots had found a stranded youngling named Wheelie. A few weeks after the battle with Unicron Cosmos had comm'ed Blaster to see if he was okay, and he noticed something unusual about Blaster's speech pattern. It took a couple more conversations to realize that Blaster had been rhyming nearly the entire time he was talking.

As it had turned out, Blaster had formed a guardian bond with Wheelie and allowed the young car-former to move into his new home on Cybertron. Blaster, being a carrier host, was naturally impressionable, so forming a bond with someone meant he would likely pick up personality traits from them. Cosmos was happy to see his friend had found a new youngling to adopt since the loss of Video Error had been so hard on him.

"There's the radio station!" Cosmos called out as he and his bondmate flew over Iacon, "Should we land on the roof or in the parking lot?"

"Land wherever you want. I'm goin' to the new water fountains," Q-Boom announced.

"Water fountains? Why? What's at the water fountains?" Cosmos asked in confusion.

"My brothers, obviously," Q-Boom rolled her optics at him, "Apparently they took up fishin'. I haven't seen them in ages, but don't worry; I'll meet you at the radio station in a couple joors."

"Just fly carefully, dear," Cosmos replied warmly, "I love you."

"I love you too, super spark," Q-Boom replied with a grin and a wink, "Hey, you wanna take half the kids with you?"

"Oh, sure. Blaster hasn't seen them yet," Cosmos replied happily as he held out his arms to receive the newsparks.

Q-Boom took out several metallic orbs containing the sparks of their progeny, and Cosmos rubbed his face plate against the nearest one. Even though they weren't his biologically, he still felt like he loved them already.

Cosmos flew into the radio station where Blaster also had a penthouse set up on the top floor. He figured without Q-Boom in tow he could just fly through the window.

"Hey Cosmos, lookin' good. Welcome back to the neighborhood," Blaster quipped when he saw Cosmos fly in carrying an armload of newsparks.

Cosmos looked around and saw that Blaster was sitting at a table with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, Terrabyte was sitting with her old symbiotes and her new ones in a circle on a rug, Steeljaw and Ramhorn were asleep on the floor cuddled together, and Rewind and Eject were fighting over video game results in the corner of the room.

"It is good to see you all again. It feels just like old times," Cosmos said fondly as he took a seat in between Blaster and Sideswipe.

"Hey cool, you have newsparks!" Sideswipe exclaimed as he poked one of the orbs with his index digit, "Wow, I knew seekers liked large families, but you and Q-Boom have been _busy_!"

"These aren't mine," Cosmos replied casually while Blaster pulled out a blanket to make a temporary nest for the little newsparks, "Quantum Boom already had these newsparks when we bonded. I believe it was part of an experiment to fuse organic material with mechanical life."

"Experiment?" Sunstreaker asked critically, "Yep, she's Wheeljack's daughter alright."

The group had a laugh about that one, and then the group began to talk about parenthood in general. Cosmos felt lucky to have friends that had been through so many different stages of child rearing. Blaster clearly had the most experience since he had adult cassettes, had briefly taken care of Video Error, and was currently raising Wheelie.

Meanwhile, Terrabyte was having a quiet conversation with Shriek, Screwball, Turret, Joey, and Stranglor. It almost felt like a beautiful dream to have her mother's symbiotes by her side again, and she was grateful to see Blaster was taking good care of them.

"But I still don't understand," Shriek inquired in spark language, "The ship exploded. You died! People don't come back from being dead! What happened?"

"I was only injured," Terrabyte replied stoically, "Actually, I'm not entirely sure I understand it myself. The most likely explanation is that the Decepticons must have been working on a device that could recreate the temporal distortions found on Dinobot Island. I suppose if such an unstable machine came into contact with an explosion, it could trigger a temporal wormhole. At least, that was Rhinox's theory. I don't really know because I wasn't awake."

"Tell us more about the Maximals," Turret requested.

"There isn't much to tell," Terrabyte replied evasively, "I will say that while it seems like everything changes, it really doesn't. They will be at war, just as we were at war. This peace won't last long, but beyond that I don't really know what will happen to us."

"It must be weird knowing what's going to happen before it does," Shriek commented.

"Kind of. I don't know everything of course," Terrabyte pointed out, "I just have a vague outline of where our species might go. I admit that sometimes this disturbs me."

"Carrier," Joey interrupted as his optics went wide, "Something feels weird."

"Describe the feeling, Joey," Terrabyte ordered as she held his arms in her servos to help him feel grounded.

"I feel a pull in my spark," Joey explained quietly, "It feels like sire, but I know it can't be, but it feels like him."

"You too?" Stranglor asked in surprise, "I just thought I was hallucinating."

Terrabyte got up and looked around the room as if that might help her find the answers. She saw two of Blaster's cassettes playing video games, she saw Steeljaw lick himself and Ramhorn drinking energon, and she saw the mechs talking. Then she noticed it, a group of newsparks wrapped up in a blanket, and she had her answer.

Terrabyte led her sparklings to the table and hopped into a chair to get a better visual of the spark chambers.

"Hello Terrabyte," Cosmos greeted her cheerfully, "Has Quantum Boom already told you about our newsparks? Aren't they just adorable?"

Terrabyte didn't reply, instead she continued to inspect the various newsparks for the one she was looking for.

"Um, perhaps I should introduce you to them?" Cosmos suggested in an effort to relieve the awkward energy she was giving off, "This one is Inferno. He gives off an extra warm energy. The medic says it's because he'll have a flame cannon sigma ability."

"That's exactly like Solarflare," Blaster added with a wistful smile.

"Yes, and this one is Red Alert," Cosmos said as he grabbed another orb, "He was modeled after Grimlock, and we suspect he's going to be very powerful. We haven't named this one yet, but it'll be part spider! Isn't that exciting? We have a few spiderbots in our newspark brood. Naming them is proving to be difficult because Quantum Boom and I can't agree on the tone we want. Like with the femme. I want to call her Arachnia, but Quantum Boom wants to call her Black Widow. I think that name sounds too dark personally. Grimlock suggested Widow Maker. Thank goodness Quantum Boom shot that down. I suppose that's proof that sparklings shouldn't name sparklings. Grimlock is a good mech, but he is too young to understand how a name can effect a sparkling's life."

Terrabyte wasn't listening to Cosmos. She used her spark to scan the chambers, and then pushed several newsparks to the side of the cloth nest and picked up one that was near the bottom of the pile.

"Oh yes, that's-" Cosmos started.

"Dinobot," Terrabyte finished before Cosmos could.

"Um, yes, actually," Cosmos stammered, "Quantum Boom named that one. He's another Dino-former. We have several."

Joey and Stranglor jumped up to the chair where Terrabyte was standing to get a better look at the newspark she was holding. She held it in both hands and stared at it with wonderment. The warm faint pulse of new life was inside that spark chamber, and Terrabyte couldn't stop the coolant that streamed down her bright yellow optics at that moment.

"May I hold him, Mr. Cosmos?" Joey asked politely.

"You may, but please be careful," Cosmos replied cautiously, "Newsparks are very fragile, and they need to be kept warm."

Joey took the newspark from Terrabyte's servos and cradled it in his small metal arms. He kind of wished he had fur like his carrier so that he could keep the newspark warmer. Joey sat down on the chair, and Terrabyte sat beside him. Stranglor wrapped himself around both of them, and they all looked down at the newspark chamber.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Sideswipe cooed as he looked at the little family, "Hey Sunny, get a picture of this! Hurry up before they move!"

Terrabyte rubbed the spark chamber as Joey continued to cradle it. He rocked from side to side as if the sparkling had already been born and felt the spark inside respond.

"This is pretty weird, right?" Stranglor whispered to the other two, "I mean, that's _sire_ in there! If we stuck around long enough we could witness our sire being built!"

"Oh, Dinobot," Terrabyte whispered sadly as she looked down at the orb, "If only you knew the life you'll lead. You have already done great things."

* * *

The Dinobots were overjoyed to see Q-Boom and her newsparks. Within a matter of minutes Slag, Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop had transformed into robot mode and grabbed the newsparks to play with them. Snarl and Slag juggled several newsparks to each other, Sludge cuddled with several more, and Swoop examined them to train for his medical residency.

Q-Boom watched them for a breem or two worrying about her sparklings, but soon she gave up on it deciding that her Dino-brothers wouldn't harm their own nieces and nephews. She and Grimlock walked over to the edge of the fishing pool and stared out at the city together.

"I notice you spend a lot more time in Dino mode," Q-Boom said to start the conversation, "You used to prefer robot mode."

"Me Grimlock am only one with T-Rex mode. It make me Grimlock feel important," Grimlock explained, "It let everyone know that me Grimlock am king of the Dinobots."

"Yeah, I can see why that would appeal to you," Q-Boom replied approvingly, "I also heard you rescued a youngling. I bet that makes Daniel happy now that Phobia's moved away. Now he'll have someone else to talk to his own mental age."

"Me Grimlock not only one that rescue him Wheelie," Grimlock replied in a rare moment of modesty, "Him Kup and him Hot Rod help us. You Q-Boom should have seen them Sharkticons! It was hilarious, and fun to feel them smash between toes." Then Grimlock suddenly turned somber as he said, "Me Grimlock miss him Wheeljack. Him would love Cybertron now. Cybertron now at peace. Him Wheeljack liked that sort of thing. Me Grimlock no care about that though. Decepticons will come back, and me Grimlock will crush them."

"Yeah, I know you will," Q-Boom replied with a small smile, "I think my 'Con crushin' days might be over though. I'm gonna be a mother to dozens of sparklings, and I don't have the support of a trine. Cosmos is the best bondmate I could ever ask for, but he's still only one mech. Half the time we can't even agree on names. Like, we have a bat hybrid sparkling, and I'm torn between givin' him an earth name or givin' him a traditional seeker name. Cosmos says we shouldn't give them weird earth names because they're already marked as different, but I think that's all the more reason to give them those names. To let them know of a part of their heritage that most other Cybertronians can never have. The same heritage you have."

"Hm...So, what am the names you Q-Boom thought of?" Grimlock asked.

"Well, the earth name I picked out is Batman, but the seeker name I picked out is Nightscream," Q-Boom replied, "One of my trine uncles was named Nightscream, but somehow I just like the name Batman. Nightscream sounds too much like Starscream for my taste."

"Me Grimlock think Batman is better," Grimlock concurred, "Oh, you Q-Boom want to see video of the latest mission me Grimlock went on with him Rodimus and him Ultra Magnus? We kicked Quintesson tailpipe!"

"Quintessons don't have tailpipes," Q-Boom corrected him, "Actually, now that I think of it, where _does_ their exhaust come out? Ah, never mind! I'm more curious about somethin' else anyway. When we talk over the comm, you talk about Rodimus Prime a lot. You go on a lot of missions for him, and you listen to him when he tells you to do stuff. What I can't help but wonder is, why?"

"What you Q-Boom mean?" Grimlock asked obliviously.

"I mean you were never this helpful to Optimus Prime," Q-Boom explained, "He was a leader that helped the Autobots survive a time of war. He commanded respect from a lot of mechs, but you always gave him a hard time. Sure, you were less of a jerk to him than you were to others, but you still didn't respect him. You treat Rodimus like a real leader, and you never did that for Optimus. To be fair I never did either, but it still don't make a lot of sense to me. Why do you like him more?"

"Because him Rodimus is my friend," Grimlock replied simply.

"That's it?" Q-Boom asked skeptically.

"Him Optimus was great leader, but he never treated me Grimlock as a friend," Grimlock told her, "He always see us Dinobots as soldiers to be deployed when him and his forces not know what else to do. He see us as last resort, and normally didn't let us do anything. Him not understand what we could really do."

"And Rodimus does?" Q-Boom asked in an almost incredulous tone of voice.

"Him Rodimus was him Hot Rod, and him Hot Rod is our friend," Grimlock reiterated, "At first me Grimlock no want to take orders from him Rodimus either, but then him Rodimus let me Grimlock go on missions all the time. Him also treat us Dinobots like we are each one Dinobot, instead of just five parts of the Dinobots. It different with Rodimus than Optimus. Him Rodimus have hard time being taken seriously as leader of Autobots, and me Grimlock have trouble being taken seriously as king of Dinobots. Me Grimlock understand him. Him need help. Him Optimus never needed me Grimlock. Him no even want Dinobots. Him tried to keep us deactivated. Him Rodimus though, him need us. Him respect us."

"Yeah, I think I get it now," Q-Boom replied softly as she turned to face him, "I know what it's like to be treated different. I know what it's like to be avoided because you have power and sometimes you're unstable. Of course in your case it wasn't _literally_ unstable like it is with my spark bomb. Anyway, I'm just glad you and the others have found your place here. Pop would be proud."

The two of them sat for a moment longer, but then got up to join the other Dinobots. Q-Boom had to practically wrestle Slag to the ground to get her newsparks back from him, and soon the six of them were having a splash fight. It was a good evening for the seeker femme and her Dinobot brothers. It was a time of peace, and whether or not that peace lasted didn't really matter to them in that moment.


	28. Till I Am One

_Author's Notes: I am really excited to get this chapter out! I've had this one planned for a few months now, and I finally got the chance to write it! It's got action, character development, and actual advancement of the plot! Hooray! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please leave a review if you feel like it :)_

* * *

Chapter 28

Till I Am One

Q-Boom and Cosmos polished the brushed copper and metallic orbs that contained their precious newsparks. They floated in space just as they did every orn, and Cosmos couldn't help the joy he felt in that moment. He wished life could pause in this moment where he had a stellar bondmate that loved him, a few dozen sparklings on the way, and the stars in the great black expanse twinkling like pieces of glitter from a confetti machine.

"Hey Cosmos, is there somethin' on my neck cables?" Q-Boom asked suddenly; driving Cosmos from his reverie.

"Um...No dearest, not that I can see," Cosmos replied after a brief inspection, "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm so itchy!" Q-Boom replied, "I thought Cybertronians only got itchy with rust infections or slow acid leaks or somethin'. Oh, holy pit! I feel like I just wanna rip out my own neck cables! Gah! My cables feel like there are tiny turbo rats crawlin' around inside them!"

"Calm down, Quantum Boom. You're still holding a newspark," Cosmos cautioned her, "We can go to a medic. I hear there's a good one on Gorr. We can go there as soon as-"

" _AAAAHHHH_!" Q-Boom suddenly screamed loud enough to make Cosmos flinch, "I can't take it anymore! My body is rejectin' me! There's somethin' inside me! Cosmos, I need to _explode_!"

"Alright, just give me the newspark and you can go somewhere and explode," Cosmos offered as he held out his servo for the orb.

Q-Boom shakily handed Cosmos the newspark, but something felt wrong. It was too hot. Cosmos inspected it and noticed a few dents where Q-Boom had been gripping the chamber very hard, and that's where he saw the problem. There was a claw mark perforation, and the spark inside was leaking out!

" _Quantum Boom! The sparkling!_ " Cosmos cried out in panic, "We're losing the sparkling!"

"What?" Q-Boom exclaimed; barely able to register the new threat over her own intolerable discomfort, "The sparkling? Wait, no! It's all my fault!"

Cosmos then compressed the newspark in his servos to stop the electric bleed, but he could only do that for so long due to the radioactive nature of an exposed spark. Q-Boom finally managed to snap out of her pain when she saw the stricken look on Cosmos' face plate.

"Holy pit! We've gotta get to a hospital!" Q-Boom shouted worriedly.

"We can try, but I don't think there's one close enough," Cosmos replied as he desperately continued to apply pressure, "Is there anything in your subspace that could serve as a plug until we reach the Cybertronian clinic on Gorr?"

Q-Boom didn't waste any time as she madly threw random scrap out of her subspace and let it float all around them in the vacuum. She found mostly useless garbage until she came across something she had completely forgotten about; the invention her pop gave her on her bonding day.

"This!" Q-Boom exclaimed as she held up the device, "It can make any piece of plating we need if we just feed it some scrap metal. Do we have any spare metal?"

"I can't check," Cosmos lamented, "I have to hold onto our sparkling, or he won't survive. Do you have anything, Quantum Boom?"

"No," Q-Boom moaned softly, but then a few seconds later said, "Cosmos? I have an idea, but you have to give me the newspark."

Cosmos looked at her warily, then looked down at their fading offspring, and then finally gave Q-Boom the newspark as quickly as possible. Q-Boom grabbed it before too much spark energy could be lost in space and pressed down firmly.

"Alright Quantum Boom, now what?" Cosmos asked hurriedly.

"Sweetie, I need you to rip off a piece of one of my wings. We don't need much, but we do need enough to make a new spark chamber," Q-Boom instructed.

"You want to transfer our sparkling into _another chamber_?" Cosmos asked incredulously, "What if he doesn't survive?"

"He _won't_ survive if we don't try!" Q-Boom reminded him harshly.

Cosmos looked crestfallen, realizing she was right but hating to risk such a procedure on their unborn child. He also hated to harm his bondmate by ripping away the most sensitive part of her anatomy. A seeker's wings were more than just an appendage; they were a source of frame-type pride and also a body part that hurt like Unicron's stomach acid when damaged. Honestly though, he no longer had a choice. He had to try to save their sparkling.

Cosmos propelled himself over to Q-Boom's left wing and began to yank as swiftly and as hard as he could. Q-Boom screamed in agony while at the same time trying to not put too much pressure on their infant's spark chamber. She distracted herself by scanning the newspark to see which one it was. Just as she was scanning she felt one final painful rip as Cosmos finally dislodged part of her wing!

" _AAAHHH_!" Q-Boom shrieked again from the intense pain.

Q-Boom inhaled and exhaled a few times while Cosmos went to work with the plate machine. He tore away the amount of metal he would need from Q-Boom's wing and then subspaced the rest for safe keeping. He then programmed a newspark chamber design in the machine and turned it on. Fortunately the computer on that thing was simple enough that a youngling could use it, and within a breem they had an intact chamber.

"Open it!" Q-Boom ordered as she felt another tiny fraction of spark fade away, " _Hurry_!"

Cosmos got the spark chamber open and then opened the damaged spark chamber. The programming from the healthy chamber registered a spark and sucked it right in before firmly closing in on itself. It twirled a few times to lock the mechanism, and then it was done. Q-Boom scanned the newspark, and smiled up at Cosmos.

"He's okay," Q-Boom breathed a sigh of relief even as she spoke, "Inferno's okay. He's gonna make it."

Cosmos took the newspark from Q-Boom and cradled it to his chassis. He then placed it inside his chest compartment along with several other newsparks so it would be safe and hidden from the universe.

"I hope there isn't any permanent damage to him," Cosmos pondered glumly after they had calmed down.

"I need an enerjolt," Q-Boom announced before taking out a pack of smokable energon rods and lighting one up against her arm like a match, "Cosmos, I'm sorry. I don't know what happened to me, but it's gone now. It just felt like stuff was crawlin' around inside me. I couldn't help it. I am so sorry. I almost killed Inferno! I'm a horrible mother!"

"Stop it, Quantum Boom," Cosmos admonished even as she continued to sob, "You are not a horrible mother, but I just logged onto the archives, and I think I know what happened to you."

"What?" Q-Boom asked pensively.

"You are suffering from Solitary Madness," Cosmos explained, "You never formed a trine, and seekers without trines can experience many psychologically impairing symptoms. Enerjolt addiction is a sign that you're trying to stave off hallucinations. There are medications that can treat symptoms, but the only cure is trining."

"You mean that itchin'...was all in my processor?" Q-Boom asked uncomprehendingly as she looked down at her claws, "All this is because my bond only has you? That's crazy! My father didn't do this when he lost his trine! I mean sure, he smoked enerjolts, but that don't mean nothin'! I'm _not_ crazy!"

"You nearly squeezed our son to death," Cosmos pointed out in a rare moment of curtness, but then in a softer voice said, "Quantum Boom, I want to help you, but I'm not enough. You need to go to a clinic. Better yet, maybe we can find you two other seekers. While having more in-laws isn't ideal, I would be willing to integrate more members into our family if it helped you to heal."

"I don't know," Q-Boom said dejectedly, "I'll...I'll think about it."

Q-Boom turned away from Cosmos then, and placed the plate machine back in subspace. Despite how bad she felt she couldn't help but smile a little. Even after death her pop just kept giving her second chances.

* * *

Soundwave's sparklings were exhausted. This orn they were training with Octane, and while he wasn't as hateful as the other Decepticons he was still a very strange mech that demanded perfection from them. They had run an obstacle course, done two hundred push ups, and practiced hand-to-hand combat with large rocks.

Freezeframe tried to study each new tutor they would get so that he could properly appease them. It was surprisingly simple most of the time. Onslaught appreciated shows of strategy, Scrapper appreciated mechs that worked with their hands instead trying to think of a way out of things, and Scourge could be flattered into a state of false security.

Octane, however, didn't really need these tactics. Despite his odd behavior he wasn't really that complex. Most Decepticons wanted power, and Octane was no different. However, while most would use brute strength or mental manipulation to achieve their goals, Octane proffered to forge friendships to strengthen his position.

That made sense considering Octane was a broadcast producer during the Golden Age. The dark purple triple changer liked the kids, so after practice he would often regale the sparklings with tales of his old life of making deals and hobnobbing with celebrities.

When the Decepticons gained a bit of power, however, Octane could see which way the wind was blowing and started using his own money to make propaganda films glorifying seekers, the Decepticon cause, and Megatron himself. This got him in a lot of trouble with the council, but his money usually got him out of that trouble and back to making movies and broadcast shows that attracted thousands to the Decepticon cause.

While Megatron had seen the benefit of having someone in charge of propaganda, he didn't see the need for such a mech on the battlefield, so Octane was left in stasis on Cybertron while the rest of the crew left for earth. Galvatron, however, expected every mech to fight; even a people-pleaser like Octane. Of course Octane wasn't very good at his new job as a warrior, so he got demoted to carrying fuel for other Decepticons; a rather humiliating position considering his old life.

Octane hated Galvatron, but didn't show it on the outside. Instead he forged alliances with powerful mechs that could help him gain the upper servo someday. He had even convinced the young city-former Trypticon that they could rule together. Octane wanted Soundwave's support, and Freezeframe knew that was why Octane was so nice to them. The large triple changer knew the best way to win a spark over was by being nice to his or her sparklings.

"Alright kiddies, take 5! I think we got enough of a workout today!" Octane called out to the exhausted younglings.

"What does he mean _we_?" Solarflare growled under her breath.

"I wanna do that again!" Video Error exclaimed; his visor light blue from being in Playful Mode.

Octane handed each of the sparklings a small cube of energon. The Decepticons didn't have the resources to refine sparkling grade, so instead they had to settle for drinking smaller amounts of regular and then continuing to feel hungry despite being fully fueled.

"That was some great energy today," Octane commended them as they sat down in front of him on the red sand of whatever planet they were on (they forgot), "Solarflare, baby, I love that thing you did with the flame cannons to melt the water on the obstacle course! Way to think outside the box! Freezeframe, you need to run faster but I love the way you never showed your feelings. You don't want the enemy to know your motivation. Video Error...maybe next time don't play hop scotch with the tires. I know you love earth games, but it's kinda weird."

Solarflare growled low again; tired of listening to Octane. It was obvious he was only talking to them because he loved the sound of his own vocalizer.

Octane's optics suddenly widened and he stilled. It looked like he was getting a message over his comm system. After a few breems of no movement Octane finally hung up.

"Okay kiddies, I've gotta take care of a little problem with Trypticon," Octane announced, "Apparently he mistakened a rock for an energon cube and now I have to pull it out of his teeth. I'll be right back! Don't go anywhere!"

With those words Octane flew away; leaving the three sparklings alone with nothing to do. Normally they would use this opportunity to get into mischief, but they were just too tired from training to be bothered with that.

"I hate this planet!" Solarflare groused, "I don't know where we are, but it's so cold here! Also the rocks smell like energon and it's making me hungry!"

"We are all hungry, Solarflare," Freezeframe reminded her, "Also, it can always be worse. At least we are no longer at the mercy of the Autobots or that strange being with the white fur."

"Yeah, our stellar cycle has been a weird one," Solarflare commented, "Still, sometimes I think about Joey and Stranglor. They were cool. I miss having friends."

"Octane is our friend," Playful Error remarked.

"No he's not!" Solarflare snapped, "He's one of our drill sergeants. Don't let that easy smile fool you. He enjoys watching us suffer just as much as the others do."

"Speaking of others," Freezeframe muttered as he pointed to several shadows heading right for them, "What do we do now?"

Sure enough, Motormaster, Rampage, and Brawl were swaggering right toward the sparklings. Video Error's visor shifted to yellow, and he instantly started running away! Solarflare and Freezeframe ran after him, but were pushed aside by Brawl as the three bigger Decepticons gave chase to the little triple changer. Yes, it was clear that Video Error was their target. They instead went off to tell Soundwave and hope he could get to Video Error before the bigger mechs hurt him.

Video Error ran to a cliff range that had many natural twists and turns as jagged red and orange rocks jutted out from the ground. Coward Error hid behind a cluster of sharp pointed rocks and offlined his visor so he wouldn't have to see the big bad Decepticons. His childish mind hoped that if he couldn't see them it also meant they couldn't see him. What he didn't know was that another Decepticon was sitting on a ledge right above him and watching the whole thing.

Motormaster, Rampage, and Brawl entered the dead end cliff range and searched for the little sparkling; each one eager to pound the little mechling into scrap metal.

"Where is that five-faced freak?" Motormaster growled low as he scanned the area with his purple optics.

"I smell him. He's definitely been here," Rampage announced.

Just then a small Decepticon jumped down from the ledge he was sitting on, and walked up to them with a knowing smirk. Video Error heard this and looked to see what it was, and saw the other 'Con. He just knew he was going to be turned in. After all, this was one of the new guys. He didn't know Video Error or Soundwave, and had every reason to try to impress the big boys.

"Hey you! You seen that little runt with the tentacles?" Motormaster asked the smaller 'Con.

"Yeah, I've seen him," The other Decepticon replied casually, "He ran through here and climbed up the cliff. At the speed he was going, I'd say he's by the sulfur gorge by now. Happy hunting."

Motormaster nodded and the three burly 'Cons left. Video Error couldn't believe it! The stranger had _saved_ him? Why? Still, he was stuck in Coward Mode and didn't trust the new guy enough to leave his safe little hiding spot.

"Hey kid, they're gone," The 'Con informed him, "I know you're back there, you might as well come out. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Why should I believe you?" Coward Error snapped fearfully.

"Because until we get back to camp I'm all you've got," The other 'Con replied matter-of-factly, "Besides, I know what it's like to be at war with yourself."

Something about the easy way this mech spoke made Video Error want to believe him. He was so scared though, and he didn't want to get hurt by yet another Decepticon looking to take out their Quintesson frustrations on his delicate frame. He stayed back there for a few breems longer, and the other Decepticon made no move to hurry him along or even to speak to him. He just waited.

Finally, still in Coward mode, Video Error forced himself to leave the safety of his spiky boulders and slowly walked toward his potential new friend (or tormentor). He stopped far enough away so he wouldn't get hit but close enough to get a good look at the mech. He was a dark blue minibot with a red visor and a set of tires on his shoulders. Video Error didn't know too many minibots among the Decepticons, and car-formers were almost as rare. Who the pit _was_ this guy?

"It's pretty scary when you suspect everyone is out to get you, huh?" The mech asked, and Video Error nodded despite himself, "Yeah, I get that. Believe it or not, I'm afraid of you right now, too. I mean, you could snap my neck cables with those tentacles, or you could switch yourself and attack me. You're pretty scary, just like all the others. Still, I couldn't leave you like that. I know how it feels to always be on your guard and to have trouble controlling yourself."

"Who are you?" Video Error asked nervously.

"The name's Counterpunch," Counterpunch replied, "I just needed to get away for a while. Ever since I transferred here to work with Galvatron I've been a bundle of loose wires. Sometimes I wanna run, and sometimes I just wanna hurt something."

"That something isn't me, is it?" Video Error squeaked.

"Nah, you're just a sparkling, and a sparkling with a long road ahead of you at that," Counterpunch replied with a sad shake of his helm, "Listen kid, you need to learn when to use each personality, otherwise you're gonna become a liability for your team."

"But I don't know how!" Video Error wailed miserably, "One breem I'm terrified of everything, and the next breem everything looks likes rainbows and tastes like fruit! Sometimes I can think straight, and sometimes I black out and don't remember what I did! I can't fix this! I can't fix it and everyone wants to kill me!"

Video Error was sobbing at this point and before he realized what he was doing he found himself hugging onto this strange mech as if he were a lifeline. Counterpunch wasn't exactly comfortable with how the sparkling was squeezing his frame, but he didn't push him away. He just stood there and waited for the little guy to tire himself out. Once Video Error let go, then Counterpunch spoke.

"Video Error, can you keep a secret?" Counterpunch asked in a serious tone of voice.

"Uh-huh," Video Error nodded as his yellow visor looked up at Counterpunch's face.

"Well..." Counterpunch looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then got real close to Video Error's audio receptors to whisper to him, "...I have split personalities, too."

Video Error's optics went wide, and he looked at the mech in shock.

"You do? How many?" Video Error asked curiously.

"Just one, but it's kind of a big deal," Counterpunch replied cautiously.

Then Counterpunch did something Video Error never expected. He transformed into another robot mode! This mode was yellow with dark blue accents, wore an Autobot sigil instead of a Decepticon sigil, and instead of a red visor he had blue optics!

"Hi, I'm Punch. This is the other me," Punch explained sheepishly, "Counterpunch is my Decepticon alter ego, but of course if you asked him he'd say I was the alter ego. I suppose it's all a matter of perspective, but we've learned to work together over the vorns."

"Whoa..." Even as he wanted to reach out and touch the new frame, Video Error felt himself begin to shift, and soon he was in Anger Mode, " _You're an Autobot_! I'm gonna kick your aft from here to Cybertron!"

"Why?" Punch asked calmly rather than run from the orange-visored mechling.

"Huh?" Anger Error asked in confusion.

"Why do you need to hurt me?" Punch asked intently, "Is it really that you're angry at me, or just that you're angry and need a reason to be angry?"

"Well I...I mean...Who _cares_!? You're an Autobot! I have to attack you!" Video Error rationalized.

The sparkling rammed his entire body into Punch and wrapped his tentacles around him, but the Autobot didn't fall over or try to fight back. He just stood there and waited for the sparkling to get tired, which didn't take long since his energon wasn't lasting as long as it should.

Video Error sat down and took several deep intakes of air, but continued to glare ferociously at Punch. Punch decided the demonstration had lasted long enough, and changed back into Counterpunch.

"You know kid, when I was your age I couldn't control my two sides, and we each always fought for control of the body," Counterpunch told him, "That's what's happening to you, isn't it? Every part of you wants a piece of the action, but none of you really knows how to balance the needs of every personality. You're not protecting yourself or growing as a mech because of this. Am I right?"

"You don't know anything!" Video Error shouted as his orange visor flashed, "I'm just fine the way I am! You're just a spy! Take one step toward me, I _dare_ you! I'll wipe the ground with your energon!"

Counterpunch sighed and shook his helm. He was speaking to the wrong personality. He needed Normal Error if he was going to help this sparkling. So, he decided that he would just sit there and wait.

* * *

It took a joor and dozens of transformations before Normal Error was in control. In that time Counterpunch tried to explain what he wanted to do for Video Error, with varying degrees of success. By the time Normal Error came around Video Error had a general concept of what Counterpunch was talking about.

"So, you said I could learn to control the other parts of myself?" Normal Error asked for clarification.

"Yes, and it is paramount that you do so before you are called on to fight," Counterpunch replied sagely.

Counterpunch led Video Error to a collection of rocks that casted large black shadows on the cliff wall and the ground. It was important that no one see what they were doing because Counterpunch couldn't let anyone know just how close he really was to his 'brother' Punch.

"When I was a youngling my sire was desperate to erase me from Punch's processor. Being an Autobot, my sire preferred Punch over me," Counterpunch explained as he pulled a disk-like device with protruding wires from his subspace, "He took me to the wise old Alpha Trion in an effort to exorcise me from Punch. Alpha Trion, however, was a much wiser mech than my sire. He built this device, it still doesn't have a name yet, but this little apparatus allowed Punch and myself to talk to each other for the first time. We managed to come to an agreement on how we should live our life, and even to this day I will sometimes plug this into my processor so we can speak to each other."

"You want me to speak to my other personalities?" Video Error asked in a calm yet disbelieving tone of voice, "Is that really possible?"

"Yes, and you will be glad you did," Counterpunch assured him as he held out the device for the sparkling's inspection, "So, do you want to try it?"

Video Error saw many reasons why this was a bad idea, but then again he also was desperate for a cure or even a treatment to his processor glitch. He still was skeptical however, since this didn't sound like a cure. He didn't want to learn to live with Coward, Crazy, Playful, and Anger. He wanted to get rid of them.

Heaving a deep intake of air and then exhaling it, Video Error stared at Counterpunch for a few astro seconds before he finally said "Hook me up, Counterpunch. I will talk to them."

Counterpunch then gingerly opened the outer casing on Video Error's helm, and he inserted the first wire to put the sparkling into stasis lock. He inserted the second and third wires to connect his various personalities to each other within the neutral setting of the device. The fourth wire connected to his own helm so Video Error could tell him when he was ready to regain consciousness. He wouldn't listen to their conversation, but the first session worked best with a moderator.

* * *

The five Video Errors were all sitting down together in a circle in a white space with no floor or ceiling, and yet somehow they all somehow managed to still be seated. Normal looked around and saw that Crazy Error, Coward Error, Anger Error, and Playful Error, all had separate physical manifestations of their consciousness just like himself. It was a surreal experience to be able to look at his other selves.

"So, we're really going through with this, huh?" Anger Error huffed as he crossed his arms over his chassis, "This is all a big waste of time!"

"Indeed, I would rather delete you all," Normal Error declared dryly, "However, if we are really going to be stuck together forever than we should at least set up some ground rules."

"Okay, how about these?" Crazy Error shouted, and suddenly there was a floor made entirely out of measuring rulers, "Now that we have the ground rulers, let's polka!"

Suddenly the entire space was filled with obnoxious accordion music, and Crazy Error started dancing the can-can despite not wearing a skirt. Anger Error roared furiously and attacked Crazy Error!

"Make them stop! Make them STOP!" Coward Error cried out in panic as Anger and Crazy rolled on the ground trying to subdue each other.

"Ooh, can I join in?" Playful asked excitedly as he jumped into the fray and started fighting with the other two.

"Enough!" Normal shouted loud enough for it to echo around the empty space, and everyone stared at him in shocked silence, "You are all damaging Video Error. We are supposed to be one and the same, but you're ruining everything."

" _We're_ ruining everything?" Anger Error asked; offended, "What about _you_? You don't react. You don't care; you just think. Do you know what Video Error would be if you were the only one that existed? _Shockwave_! Do you really want to turn us all into Shockwave? Even Shockwave didn't wanna be Shockwave!"

"Have you ever noticed that Shockwave's name is similar to our dad's?" Crazy asked out of the blue, "What would Shockwave look like if he was painted blue and white? Ooh! That would be so slagging cool! We should totally do that!"

"Shockwave is dead, I think," Normal replied, "Listen, Counterpunch said we can only survive if we work together, so I think we should make a schedule of who gets the body when."

"But what if there's something really dangerous around and it's Anger's turn?" Coward asked worriedly, "My job is to protect us."

"No, _my_ job is to protect us!" Anger Error contested, "Your job is to run around and be useless when we should be fighting!"

"But you would just get us all killed!" Coward argued, "I keep us alive!"

"Yeah, some life," Crazy scoffed, "You never wanna do anything fun! I make our dreams come true. Clearly I deserve to have the most time. Then we can be free and paint mustaches on everyone!"

"You don't add anything to our joy," Playful stated haughtily, "I'm the real fun one, and my fun has actual stakes to it. When the Decepticons see me win games and competitions they know Video Error is both fun and smart. I'm the best of both worlds, and certainly more useful than you are, Crazy."

"Who cares about being useful?" Crazy shrugged, "I can get us whatever we want. If there's a stash of energon goodies, just take it. If there's fun to be had, just do it. Games are just rules disguised as fun. I make Video Error's life worth living, and that makes me the best Video Error."

"Wait, guys, this isn't about who is best," Normal pointed out, "The real problem is we used to all fit together. We used to be one, but now we can't even remember a time when we weren't five. We even forgot our own dad! We've been hurt, and we will continue to be hurt. If we are going to keep this body going then we need to figure out when the best times are for us to change. First, when do we need you, Anger?"

"When we're in trouble or being challenged!" Anger immediately answered.

"No, not exactly," Normal corrected him, "I mean, yes, those are good reasons, but what about Solarflare and Freezeframe? They are our responsibility because we are older than them. I vote that Anger handles the protection of our siblings."

"Why can't I do it?" Crazy asked petulantly.

"Because you are too easily distracted," Normal replied, "Anger is both passionate and focused. He is the best protector. However, we are small and defending ourselves isn't always advisable. I believe Coward needs to appear when we cannot possibly win a fight."

"I can do that, easily," Coward replied with a nod, "I'm the one most likely to get past the firewalls anyway."

"Playful, I noticed you appear whether or not we are about to enter a game or tournament situation," Normal observed, "I suggest you only appear when it's time for organized play."

" _What_? But that doesn't happen very often!" Playful whined, "I like to make up games! Why can't I initiate play with others?"

"I wouldn't mind, except you tend to appear at times when your presence could be harmful to us or the situation is too serious for you," Normal explained, "As for Crazy, well...you should appear when there is no danger, and/or when our siblings want to play. They seem to like you more than me anyway."

"Why should I listen to these stupid rules?" Crazy Error pouted.

"Please, this is for Video Error's safety and sanity," Normal stressed, "You don't have to be locked away, just choose your moments carefully and allow whoever is using the body at the time to give consent first."

"Well...alright, if you insist, but I still think this is dumb!" Crazy snapped; arms crossed over his chassis and his glossa sticking out.

"And of course I will appear when critical thinking is needed, especially if an adult wants to talk to us," Normal stated with authority, "After all, I am the most mature personality and the adults prefer talking to me. Now, any questions?"

"Yeah, how do we get out of this slagging white room?" Anger asked in annoyance.

A large red button suddenly appeared in the middle of the circle the five Video Errors were sitting in, and the button had Cybertronian glyphs on it that said: PUSH FOR REALITY.

"Well, it's time to start a new life, brothers," Normal said as he smiled at his counterparts, "Let's be the best Video Error we can be."

* * *

Counterpunch stood over Video Error as he awoke from stasis lock. Video Error's visor was red, indicating Normal Mode.

"So, how was your first time in the void?" Counterpunch asked lightheartedly.

"Strange," Video Error admitted, "However, I believe I feel a little better. I don't know if I can control my crazy side yet, but I think everything else is under control. Let's go back to camp. My family is waiting for me."

Counterpunch nodded with a sincere smile and took Video Error's servo to lead him back to camp. He knew the bullies would still be there, and his problems in the outside world would still be there, but Counterpunch also knew from experience that internal harmony could make outside problems seem much smaller than they had been before.


	29. Relative Prey

_Author's Notes: Well, this is the home stretch. After this there is only one chapter left to go in this story! This chapter marks the end of Q-Boom's story, and the next chapter will be the end of the story for Soundwave's sparklings (here at least). I hope you review this chapter, and stick around for the final chapter (which hopefully will be out soon_ ). :)

 **Golden:** _Thank you for letting me use your characters. It's amazing how far this story has come with a simple request, and now it's at over 7,000 views! In answer to your previous question, I will not be going into Headmasters continuity. For one, Bitten/Terrabyte killed Scorponok, so I kind of wrote myself into a corner. For another thing, the fate of Soundwave will deviate from cannon continuity, but trust me when I say it will be awesome! Thanks again, and I hope you can continue to do cool things with Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe. With any luck I'll be able to start another story with Terrabyte after this :)_

* * *

Chapter 29

Relative Prey

Q-Boom and Cosmos had a busy day scheduled. It had all started when they logged onto the Cybertronian data net and entered the family & relationships section. Cosmos helped Q-Boom set up a profile under the subcategory of Trine & Combine; a section for Cybertronians seeking a connective bond such as seeker trining or setting up a gestalt bond. They hoped that they could find two Autobot seekers somewhere that would trine with Q-Boom.

At first no one had answered Q-Boom's ad, but after a few deca-orns they finally got a response from two seeker mechs named Typhoon and Whiplash. They were already a central and right wing respectively and were looking for a new left wing to replace a comrade that had died. Q-Boom would chat with them online for joors at a time, and it seemed she and Whiplash got along quite well. Typhoon was kind of stuffy, but Q-Boom was used to that from living with Honey Venom for 3 vorns.

Cosmos was supportive of the idea at first, but the more he thought about what her trining with them would mean the more he began to question himself. He knew his thoughts were ridiculous, since a trine was like a sibling bond, but he still didn't like the idea of two new mechs usurping his position as the only mech in Q-Boom's life. He didn't know if he could actually bring himself to accept them right away.

Nonetheless, Cosmos kept these foreboding thoughts to himself. He wanted his beloved bondmate to be happy and mentally sound, and he knew this trining had to happen if she was going to be okay. They were going to Cybertron to meet the new trine. Q-Boom of course insisted they go a few joors early so they could see the other Autobots, because there was a big event recently in her family...

Grimlock was a father! It was a strange thing to happen, and the details of how it came to be only made Cosmos's processor ache even more from trying to comprehend it. Apparently an accident caused Grimlock to become a super genius, and he used that newfound intellect to create the most intelligent gestalt to ever live. Of course, he did that by giving them his own intelligence, so now he was dimwitted again. While Cosmos was still reeling, however, Q-Boom was just excited for a chance to get to meet her five new nephews.

"I just can't believe it! Our family has a gestalt team!" Q-Boom chattered happily as they descended to the planet below, " _The Technobots_! Even their team name sounds smart! Hey Cosmos, did you map out the best places to buy enerjolts? I don't wanna freak out when I meet my new trine, or my new nephews. _Whee_! Everythin's comin' together!"

"I just hope they aren't as vicious as Grimlock and the other Dinobots," Cosmos pondered nervously.

"Swoop ain't vicious," Q-Boom pointed out, "In fact, he's less aggressive than me."

"True," Cosmos admitted, "I suppose everything is just happening so fast. I hope your trine doesn't mind having a saucer-former in their family."

"Why would they mind? Pit, you're the only one I've ever met and you're great," Q-Boom said encouragingly.

"Exactly, I'm the only one you've ever met. Have you ever wondered why?" Cosmos asked pointedly, and Q-Boom shook her head no, "My people don't live on Cybertron. We don't live anywhere. We were designed to act as couriers and messengers in outer space for the council, and when the war broke out many just settled in whatever star system they happened to find themselves in."

Cosmos and Q-Boom landed, and then Cosmos sighed before continuing his account; his processor lost in the past.

"Both sides considered saucer-formers to be cowards, but the Decepticons were especially brutal and intolerant. They didn't like our nomadic lifestyle or solitary nature. Seekers committed many atrocities against my frame type. Considering how important family and friends are to seekers, many considered saucer-formers to be an infectious disease because we believed in living alone. They were afraid our way of life would corrupt theirs."

For a moment neither said anything, and Q-Boom just stared out at the city while Cosmos fidgeted nervously and waited for her to say something. He hoped his revelation didn't make her suddenly hate him. It would destroy him if his bondmate could no longer stand his frame type.

"Slag Cosmos, I didn't know any of that that," Q-Boom whispered as she looked at her bondmate with saddened and sympathetic yellow optics.

"It was before your time," Cosmos replied; once again feeling old compared to her, "By the time the devastation hit Altihex saucer-formers were nearly extinct. I had a hard time learning to trust others in such a difficult climate of hatred and war, but the Autobots made me feel wanted and accepted. To be fair, I got a lot of hard missions that would often take me away from my friends. I know my life isn't perfect, but compared to what it used to be I consider myself very lucky. I have true friends, I have a job I'm naturally good at, and most of all I have a family. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and these newsparks will bring us even greater joy as they grow."

"And my trine will make your life even...fuller," Q-Boom joked with a fake sheepish grin.

Q-Boom and Cosmos laughed the rest of the way to Iacon. Cosmos was grateful Q-Boom could take some of his apprehension away. After all, what was he really worried about? Soon their newsparks would be built, and soon they would meet the newest additions to the family (the Technobots and the new trine). Yes, Cosmos needed to remember that having more people around wasn't the curse his frame kin used to believe it was. A large family could be a blessing, and he was ready to embrace it.

* * *

Ravage was ordered by Soundwave to look for the sparkling. It was time for dinner and they weren't answering their comms. Ravage was concerned, because today they were supposed to train with Astrotrain, and he wasn't exactly the most kid-friendly Decepticon around.

Ravage scoured the landscape of the planet they were on; this time an organic world with lots of green grass, green hills, and little else. It took him a quarter joor to locate his younger siblings, and when he did he was shocked at the sight of them.

They were unconscious, and looked like they had been beaten to slag! Astrotrain was nowhere to be found. Either Astrotrain beat them himself or he stood by while others did, and in Ravage's processor there was no difference.

Ravage walked over first to Solarflare and sniffed her to make sure she was still living. She was, so he did the same with the mechlings, and they too were still alive. Ravage growled low at the callous disregard for their safety. He was outraged, and he wasn't going to let this happen again.

/Rumble, Frenzy, track my location and get over here!/ Ravage demanded over the comm, /I need help getting the sparklings back to base./

/What do you mean? Can't they walk?/ Frenzy asked uncomprehendingly.

/No, _someone_ hurt them,/ Ravage growled with barely suppressed fury, /Come here now! I can't get them home by myself./

/We'll be right there,/ Rumble replied without hesitation.

Ravage guarded his little siblings while he waited for his brothers. Oh, Soundwave would _definitely_ hear about this. It seemed like each trainer was worse than the last, and this time they had gone too far! The other Decepticons weren't coming near the sparklings again. Ravage resolved in his spark that he would train the little ones himself.

* * *

"You built them from _what_!?" Q-Boom asked incredulously as she stared first at Grimlock and then the Technobots.

"My Grimlock make them Technobots out of pieces of Unicron," Grimlock replied; unfazed, "Them Technobots is really smart. Them is also good Decepticon crushers!"

"They oughta be," Q-Boom chuckled, "They were built by the baddest 'Con crusher around usin' materials from a thing that ate moons for a bedtime snack! How could they be _anythin_ ' _less_ than awesome? So, which one of you gets to be the head?"

"That would be me! The name's Scattershot!" The titular mech declared, "So, how do you know our creator again?"

"I'm his sister," Q-Boom shrugged.

"I don't understand," Lightspeed stated in confusion, "You don't look like a Dinobot, unless you're the same kind as Swoop."

"She Q-Boom am adopted," Grimlock explained, "The short round guy am her bondmate Cosmos. Him Cosmos not that strong, but him have a hard shell."

"What's a bondmate?" Lightspeed asked curiously.

"Wow, these guys really _are_ sparklings!" Q-Boom exclaimed as she pulled an enerjolt from subspace and struck it against her arm, "So..." She drew out the word before heaving a long drag of her enerjolt and blowing out the light blue smoke, "Why did you make them adult frames again?"

"We need them for fighting Quintessons and Decepticons," Grimlock explained as if it should be obvious, "Sparkling frames am useless. Nobody make sparkling frames anymore."

"I suppose that's true," Cosmos said sadly, "We'll probably need to build adult frames as well. Such a shame, since I was so looking forward to raising a bunch of little sparklings during peacetime."

"Well then good news, Pops," Q-Boom said with a smirk, "Because those frames are all gonna be short. To conserve fuel and spark energy Honey Venom and I agreed to make all the new beast frames between 6 and 10 feet tall. Frankly, the term Project: _Maximal_ was more ironic than anythin' else."

Cosmos smiled at his bondmate, not so much for her slightly amusing joke but because she was happy and stable for the moment. Apparently being around the Dinobots and Technobots was enough to pull her out of whatever temporary insanity she had been in. He only hoped she could keep it together long enough for her trine to arrive. The new trine was coming to the watering hole where they all were at the moment so they could not only meet Q-Boom and Cosmos but also Q-Boom's extended family.

"Hey Aunt Q?" Strafe suddenly piped up, "Slag said you could explode. Can you show us that? That would be so slagging cool!"

"Watch your glossa, junior," Q-Boom admonished him, "And I better not. I always run low on energon when I do, and I don't have anymore in my subspace."

"That is alright, Aunt Q-Boom," Nosecone said politely, "I would be more interested in stories about our creator."

"Oh? Well let me think...I can tell you about the time he got his arm stuck in a jumbo jar of grape jelly," Q-Boom shrugged.

"Hey, that no fair!" Grimlock protested before she could get into the story, "Me Grimlock thought it was energon!"

"Hard to believe he was once the smartest being on Cybertron," Afterburner sighed.

"Agreed. Sometimes I feel guilty about our taking away your intelligence, creator," Nosecone added ruefully.

"No, you need brains more than me Grimlock do. Me Grimlock already king of the Dinobots. Now me also have five genius sons. Me already have everything me need," Grimlock told them with a warm smile.

Just as Nosecone was about to respond they heard a sonic blast coming from the sky. The group knew they were looking for two seekers, so they assumed that these were them. Cosmos breathed on his arm and shined it with a cleaning cloth in a last minute effort to look presentable. Q-Boom looked up with a smile, but Scattershot noted that something seemed wrong with this picture.

"Hey Aunt Q, do seekers typically resemble the organic chiroptera species generally found on planets like earth, Aldaberan, and Roso?" Scattershot asked suspiciously.

"Uh...huh?" Q-Boom asked obliviously.

"Bats. Do seekers look like bats?" Afterburner translated.

"No. Why?" Q-Boom asked; her suspicions rising as well.

Before anyone could answer her, shots were fired from the sky! Sweeps came down in a swarm, and soon Scourge and Cyclonus joined the fray. They landed just outside the pool where everyone else was standing and held their weapons at the ready.

"You were supposed to come alone, Quantum Boom," Cyclonus chided almost mockingly, "Oh well, no matter. We will still get what we came for. Hand over the spark chambers and no one dies today."

"How do you know about- Typhoon and Whiplash! Oh _pit_ , I am so stupid!" Q-Boom clawed at her own helm when she realized the potential trining had all been an online trap set by their enemies, "Well you can forget it, you imposters! The only way you'll get my sparklings is by ripping through my greyed-out chassis!"

"That goes double for me!" Cosmos added with a protective stance next to his mate.

"You Decepticons am outnumbered!" Grimlock pointed out, "Dinobots, attack!"

The other four Dinobots got out of the water with Grimlock and charged at the invaders. Cyclonus and Scrouge transformed into jet mode and started firing again at the ground bound Autobots. Swoop flew up to try to rip into them with his talons, but he found himself surrounded by Sweeps and was soon grounded from the sheer weight of them!

Q-Boom flew up to combat Cyclonus. She transformed into jet mode and soon the two were engaged in a dogfight backlit against a starry night. Q-Boom shot cluster bombs at Cyclonus, who countered with plasma bursts. Cyclonus suddenly turned sharply to ram into Q-Boom, but Q-Boom dodged at the last astro second! It had all been a ruse, however, as Cyclonus had implanted a small inhibitor chip on her wing as he passed by her.

Q-Boom felt the chip activate, and soon she was crashing to the ground; unable to control her navigation! She crashed into a small building and exploded on impact! Cyclonus hung back to watch for her to reassemble, and soon enough she did. He then flew down and transformed in front of her. He used a hacking prod to rip open her subspace while she lay there unable to move, but he found no newsparks.

/Scourge. The femme doesn't have them. Go after the saucer,/ Cyclonus ordered over the comm.

Q-Boom could barely turn her helm and watch the scene play out before her. The Dinobots were all preoccupied with saving Swoop from the Sweeps, and Snarl's tail had been removed and he was leaking energon, yet he still continued to fight. When Scourge got too close to Cosmos, who was trying to fly away with their precious cargo, the Technobots combined to form Computron! Q-Boom barely managed a smile; ready to see the new combiner rip Scourge a new one.

"Calculating strategy to defeat Decepticon Scourge..." Computron announced without moving, "...4 ways detected. Calculating odds of success..."

 _Oh great!_ Q-Boom thought to herself In frustration. _These guys are all geniuses and they still think as slow as Grimlock! Figures._

While Computron was calculating the odds Cyclonus and Scourge surrounded Cosmos and managed to tackle him! Cosmos struggled while Scourge pinned him down. Cyclonus then took out his hacking prod and forced open Cosmos' subspace pocket. There he found the newsparks, and began to load them in his own subspace.

"No! You can't do this! _No_!" Cosmos screamed at them while trying to escape Scourge's hold on him, "This is low, even for a Decepticon. Why are you doing this?"

"Numbers, Autobot," Cyclonus replied pitilessly, "Whoever controls the sparkling population controls the future. Thanks to you and your processor-deficient spouse we will have an army of Predacons at our disposal."

" _No_!" Cosmos pushed with one final effort of his strength, and knocked Scourge away from him!

Scourge ran into Computron, who was now finally ready to kick his tailpipe to the curb. Cosmos tackled Cyclonus and tried to get the hacking prod away from him so he could get his sparklings back. Cyclonus realized quickly what the minibot was doing, and subspace the prod. He then punched Cosmos in the face plate, and quickly rushed over and shot the downed shuttle at point blank range in the chassis! Sludge saw what had just happened, and in a rage not common for the simple-minded apatosaurus he slammed into Cyclonus; nearly knocking him out!

Cyclonus realized a fight was no longer necessary since they got what they needed, so he ordered Scourge and the Sweeps to retreat. No one thought to go after him since they didn't realize Cyclonus had stolen the newsparks, and they desperately needed to tend to their wounded.

Computron separated back into the Technobots, and the Dinobots started patching up their brethren. Lightspeed went to see how Q-Boom was doing and removed the inhibitor chip from her wing.

"Aunt Q, are you alri-?" Lightspeed tried to ask, but she pushed him out of the way.

" _Cosmos_!" Q-Boom screamed in pain and panic as she used her thrusters to get to him quickly.

Sludge, now in robot mode, was holding down the hole in his chassis to keep the energon from leaking out, and the maimed saucer-former was still barely conscious.

"Cosmos! Say somethin'!" Q-Boom demanded as optic fluid streamed down her face plate.

"Qu- Quantum Boom..." Cosmos rasped, "Go after them...Newsparks...need you. _Please_."

"Are you insane!?" Q-Boom snapped, "If you don't get to a hospital _now_ you're gonna die!"

"Leave me," Cosmos insisted, "Save the newsparks. Save...them..."

Cosmos then blacked out, and Q-Boom was left with a choice. She was the only flier still in operating condition, and the best one for deep space travel. Should she go after Cyclonus and Scourge and save her unborn sparklings, or should she allow the Decepticons to get away with her newsparks and save her bondmate?

Her expression hardening in determination, Q-Boom scooped up Cosmos and held onto his injury as she flew away with him. There was still time. She could still save him. She only hoped he would forgive her when he woke up and found out what she did.

* * *

The sparklings had been more traumatized by their experience with their tutors than Soundwave and his adult cassettes had previously thought. Video Error would wake up screaming in Coward Mode after a nightmare, Solarflare had become clingy and unwilling to leave Ravage's side, and Freezeframe was even more subdued than usual. The ice-powered mechling wouldn't even make visor-contact with most of the adult 'Cons.

Soundwave was concerned for the mental health of his sparklings, so to keep them from feeling threatened he kept them close to him and the other cassettes. He no longer allowed Galvatron to bully him into forcing other Decepticons to train his younglings, and he kept their contact with the outside world to a minimum. He knew it wasn't a long-term solution, but it was all he could do.

Despite his job keeping his sparklings safe and content Soundwave still spied on the other Decepticons, and he noticed that Galvatron and his two highest ranked officers, Cyclonus and Scourge, had become very secretive lately. Occasionally he would hear them discussing some secret treasure they had hidden, but they spoke in such vague tones he could never discern what they were hiding or where.

Soundwave finally decided it didn't matter. Sure, it would be unfair if they were hoarding energon, but he coudln't afford to care the way other mechs did. His sparklings and his adult symbiotes were all that mattered to him now. He knew the Decepticon cause was a mere echo of its former self, and all he could do was ride it out until they all died or Galvatron was replaced by someone better.

On this day Soundwave sat outside on the grassy planet they were staying on and watched as Ravage taught the sparklings how to attack an enemy's weak point. They mostly practiced on mounds of dirt, but they were still getting the hang of focusing their attacks and on conserving the energy their sigma abilities required.

The sparklings were dirty by the time they were finished, yet Playful Error insisted on continuing to throw mudballs using his tentacles. Ravage tried to calm down the overly enthused sparkling, but Video Error just pelted him with mud too.

"Very funny," Ravage deadpanned; causing the sparklings to all laugh.

"Hey, I say we attack Video Error now!" Solarflare exclaimed, and then she loaded some mud into one of her cannons and fired at the larger sparkling.

"Oh, you're in for it now!" Video Error exclaimed before trying to hit Solarflare and hitting Freezeframe instead.

"Very well, then I hereby declare a mud war," Freezeframe said in a formal tone before freezing some mud balls and hitting the sparklings with them; causing dents.

"Oh, you don't want any of this!" Solarflare taunted before drying the mud with her flame cannon and returning fire on Freezeframe.

Before long all four participants were digging up large swaths of dirt and grass and flinging them at each other. Soundwave watched impassively, but secretly he was amused. He loved these moments when the sparklings could just let loose and be sparklings.

The moment was cut short, however, when Soundwave noted a disturbance in the sky. He looked up using his advanced tracking sensors and saw that an Autobot ship was heading for the Decepticon HQ.

"Alert: Autobots attacking. Ravage, Freezeframe, Solarflare: return," Soundwave commanded, "Video Error: Prepare to fight."

Normal Error appeared then and said "Yes, sire. I won't let you down. My anger is ready if the enemy engages me."

Soundwave flew toward the scene, trying to ignore the mud in his tape deck, and Video Error transformed into jet mode so he could fly faster. Soon they had come upon a standoff between Rodimus Prime and his mechs and Galvatron and his mechs. Soundwave noted that the Autobots looked really slagged off, and Galvatron was smirking. That was rarely a good sign.

"We know you have them, Galvatron!" Rodimus snapped furiously, "Give them back before we tear each and every one of you apart!"

"You're too late, Rodimus!" Galvatron replied with a feral grin, "The newsparks are hidden away, and you will never find them. They're not even on this planet anymore, and considering the traveling we've done lately, you'll have a difficult time even figuring out the right solar system!"

Galvatron then laughed evilly, and several Autobots growled low. Cyclonus was impassive as ever, but Scourge looked downright smug. Soundwave, though, could only pick up on one word: newsparks. It wasn't enough that Galvatron abused the three sparklings already serving under him, now he needed even younger minions for his army? Soundwave was disgusted, but at the same time helpless. After all, they were just Autobot sparklings, and he had his own creations to worry about. He would not risk his family to aid the enemy, even if he felt this was wrong.

"Excuse me?" Video Error suddenly called up to Rodimus, who he was standing next to, and Soundwave instantly felt like the energon in his fuel lines had turned to ice as he stood frozen in silent panic.

"Huh? Hey, you're just a sparkling," Rodimus said in astonishment as he looked down at the young triple changer, "How old are you?"

"3 and a half vorns, sir," Video Error replied stoically; his visor red from Normal Mode, "Sir, do you intend to attack us? If you do I will fight back, and you will regret ever coming here."

"Look kid, have you seen any newspark chambers around here?" Rodimus asked the small mechling.

"No, I haven't," Video Error replied impassively.

Rodimus wanted to find the newsparks that belonged to Cosmos and Q-Boom before they were formatted as Decepticons. As it was Cosmos was barely hanging onto life and Q-Boom was unwilling to even leave his hospital room to search for her own children. Her behavior was odd to Rodimus, but Arcee explained that it was just grief. They just had to get those newsparks back!

"The sensor analysis is complete," Perceptor said from the back of the Autobots' entourage, "Apparently Galvatron is telling the truth. None of their subspaces have the newsparks, and I cannot detect them anywhere within the compound."

"They're not here," Rodimus growled in a low tone of voice, "Autobots, let's get out of here. Galvatron, you haven't heard the last of this."

Galvatron just cackled maniacally as the Autobots left without their prize. Most of the Decepticons laughed along with them at their enemy's misfortune, but Soundwave actually felt a slight pang of guilt for them. He knew what it was like to lose his young sparklings to the enemy, and he only had 3. He learned later that Cyclonus had managed to steal 34 newsparks from that minibot and his explosive mate. Soundwave also remembered that the seeker femme was also a victim of being adopted by the wrong side of the war, as she had once been a Decepticon too.

"Sire?" Video Error looked up at his father with a curious red visor, "Suggestion, we go back to the mud puddle? I think it would make my siblings happy."

Soundwave audibly sighed in a rare moment of exhaustion, but then nodded his helm to agree to his sparkling's request. He didn't really want to be around the other Decepticons at the moment anyway.

* * *

Cosmos finally awakened in the hospital room, and Q-Boom was right there next to him to grab his servo and squeeze it in support.

"Q-Quantum B-Boom?" Cosmos rasped as he struggled to speak.

"Shh, it's okay sweet spark, I'm here," Q-Boom said soothingly, "You made it."

"The newsparks-!" Cosmos suddenly asked in a panic.

"Hey, don't strain yourself," Q-Boom warned him as she physically pushed him back down on the berth to make him rest, "Look, I'm sorry Cosmos, but I couldn't go after them. I couldn't lose you. We can make more sparklings, but you're the only one of you I got. I know you're probably mad at me, and that's okay, because you're still alive to be mad at me. I don't care what you think of me, because you're still here."

"The shot...missed...the spark chamber," Cosmos croaked out as he settled back down.

"No, sweetie, it didn't," Q-Boom informed him, "Cyclonus actually managed to graze your laser core, and you almost leaked out your spark energy. You barely survived."

"No, Quantum Boom..." Cosmos rasped as he shakily used his servo to open his chassis compartment and reveal his single passenger seat; with a newspark inside!

"What the!?" Q-Boom asked in shock.

"Cyclonus...checked my subspace but...he missed...my physical compartment," Cosmos explained, "One left..."

Q-Boom took the newspark out of Cosmos' seat and scanned it as quickly as she could. She couldn't believe it! They still had a sparkling!

"It's the bat one," Q-Boom announced, "The one we never coded a designation for."

"Do you still...want to call him...Batman?" Cosmos asked with a weak yet playful smile.

"Nah, I think you were right," Q-Boom told him, "We should give him a name that's more meaningful. Nightscream."

"Nightscream," Cosmos confirmed with a nod, "May he have a deep respect for life, and a desire to live his life to the fullest."

"And may he never have my disregard for air traffic laws," Q-Boom added jokingly.

Cosmos laughed, and even though it was painful to laugh so hard he was still glad he could. He wasn't going to lose hope for his other sparklings, but at least he and Q-Boom would have someone to love and care for in the meantime.

"Hey Cosmos?" Q-Boom suddenly piped up, "I wanna move to Cybertron. I'm tired of our nomad lifestyle, and I think Nightscream needs to grow up with gravity under his wings."

"Where do you want to move to, dearest?" Cosmos asked, "Vos and Altihex have both been rebuilt and are nicer than ever before."

"No, I wanna move to Kaon," Q-Boom replied firmly.

"Kaon? But neither of us has ever lived there before," Cosmos noted with confusion.

"Exactly. We have no baggage there; no past," Q-Boom explained, "We can be whoever we wanna be in Kaon. We can start over, and give Nightscream an excitin' life in a big city. Besides, it's a pit of a lot cheaper than Iacon."

Cosmos laughed again, and then agreed to her idea. They would move to Kaon, and they would raise their son there. Hopefully the Autobots could get along without them. Cosmos told Q-Boom that they should both probably retire from duty to the Autobots, and Q-Boom agreed without question. This was finally a new start for the happy couple and their remaining sparkling.


	30. Hate Turns To Love

_Author's Notes: Well, here is the bittersweet yet satisfying moment when another long fic comes to an end. I really enjoyed writing the ending for this one, and admittedly it's a lot fluffier than I thought it would be. I will say though that the very last segment was planned out for months, though other parts were added to fill out the world while I had the chance. I really love the OCs created for this universe and will most likely continue to use them for other installments set in this AU, but now is the time when I give Video Error, Solarflare, and Freezeframe back to their rightful creator. They really added something special to this story :)_

 _ **Golden** : Thanks for helping me write this story and for letting me use your OCs. Also, I looked for your fanfics on Quotev, but if they're there I couldn't find them. I could just be bad at navigating that site since it's unfamiliar. Hope I can find them though because I want to read them. It'll be nice to see the Soundwave sparklings' pre-CB adventures :)_

* * *

Chapter 30

Hate Turns To Love

Solarflare hid behind a rock and struggled to catch her intakes. She knew she had to be very quiet or else they would get her. She didn't want to die, but she didn't know how to escape.

It had all happened so fast. The Decepticons had gone back to Charr to regroup and try to determine their next strategy against the Autobots. The debacle started when a lone Autobot, glowing red, bolted down to the planet and immediately tried to strangle Octane before being offlined by Scourge. That strange incident was the beginning of the worst orn of their lives.

When Octane finally stood up he was glowing red too, and he started trying to attack everyone in sight! Soundwave released the cassettes, including Solarflare and Freezeframe, to try to pacify Octane. That had turned out to be a bad move. Soon nearly every Decepticon was glowing red and attacking each other! Solarflare had been attacked, but for some reason she had not been affected by whatever it was that was driving everyone crazy. Freezeframe, however, wasn't so lucky. He started glowing red as well, and he tried to freeze Solarflare! She ran, only stopping to look back once, and saw that even Galvatron was afraid of this angry mob. Galvatron was never afraid! This had to be the worst thing ever!

For joors Solarflare ran and hid from the other Decepticons. She didn't know what was happening. She only knew the red glow made them all crazy and want to kill each other. It seemed like it was some kind of infection or mind control, but she didn't know and had no way of finding out.

Every now and then someone would get close to her, and she would use her flame cannon to drive them away while she fled, but other than that she had no plan. Her energy reserves were getting low, and those berserkers had destroyed the energon cube reserves in their blind fury. If they didn't kill her, then she would likely starve. Solarflare, not knowing what else to do, huddled next to a rock and sighed from both exhaustion and misery.

Soon she heard more pede steps, and she held her intakes as she waited for the unknown threat to pass by her. There was no one she could trust since even her own father and siblings had been infected, so she knew whoever this was would be a threat.

The threat didn't go away, however. Instead its steps drew closer to where she was hiding. Solarflare readied her cannon, knowing it didn't have much power, and leapt out of the hiding spot and fired!

"Ow! Hey moron, it's me!" Video Error yelled as he danced around her flames to avoid getting hit.

Solarflare stopped firing to take in the situation. Video Error's visor was orange, so he was angry just like everyone else, but his armor was still grey and black so he wasn't infected by the red stuff. She still wasn't sure if he was friend or foe, but at the same time she didn't want to hurt him in case he could help her.

"If you're still you or whatever, then why are you so angry?" Solarflare asked skeptically.

"Because of the stupid red spores!" Video Error snapped, "My body picks whichever mode will protect me best, and you can't get angry if you're already angry! That's probably why you're still okay, because there's no way to make you angrier or more hateful than you already are."

"I don't know if that's true, but I don't know any better explanation," Solarflare shrugged, "So Video Error, what do we do now?"

"We kick aft and survive," Video Error declared as he clenched his fist.

"Language," Solarflare teased him, but his scowl made her shut up.

With no plan and no adults to help them, Solarflare and Video Error set off to find shelter and get away from the crazy Decepticons that were roaming the desolate desert planet,.

Video Error and Solarflare tried to pass the time as they walked through the rugged terrain. Video Error tried playing the question game where he would give Solarflare 3 hints and ask her about trivia, but they had to stop when Anger Error kept getting frustrated when she got it wrong and Playful Error kept trying to come out. If any other part of Video Error was exposed he risked getting the Hate Plague, which seemed like a more fitting name for the phenomenon than the Red Stuff Virus.

Finally Solarflare could walk no further, so she fell down on her knee guards and sat down.

"Hey! Get up! We gotta keep moving!" Video Error shouted at her like a coach at a football game.

"I _can't_!" Solarflare whined, "We might as well let them get us! We can't fix this, and we can't find anyone who can! We're gonna die anyway, so why fight it?"

"That's quitter talk!" Video Error snapped defiantly, "Are you a quitter, or are you my sister? Well?"

"I'm your sister," Solarflare muttered.

"I can't hear you! Are you talking to the ground or are you talking to me?" Video Error exclaimed as he pulled up Solarflare by her arms using his tentacles and forced her to her pedes, "Now, are you a _quitter_!?"

" _No, I'm not!_ " Solarflare screamed in his face plate, "You're right! We just have to find a way off this rock and then we can go live somewhere else! Let's get out of here!"

"Yeah!" Video Error shouted excitedly, and just like that his visor changed to Crazy Error.

"No!" Solarflare wailed as soon as she saw that purple visor, "You idiot! If you don't get angry again you're gonna get sick!"

"But I'm hungry, and Angry Error isn't feeding me!" Crazy Error whined, "Now, where do we keep the dirt? Energon always tastes better with some good old fashioned grit! Say, maybe this stuff we're walking on counts as dirt? Would you call this dirt?"

"Stop being stupid and change back!" Solarflare snapped at him; unwilling to answer his ridiculous question.

Just as Video Error was about to say something else, he suddenly stopped and looked behind Solarflare with a wide purple visor. He then started grinning widely and hopping up and down.

"Look! Look! It's the Energizer Bunny from the earth TV!" Video Error shouted excitedly as he pointed behind Solarflare.

Solarflare felt dread as she realized there was indeed someone behind her. She turned and saw that it was Cyclonus in all his red glowing hateful glory.

"No! Stay away!" Solarflare shouted as she forced as much fire out of her cannon as she could, "Run, Video Error!"

Video Error then changed from Crazy Mode to Angry Mode and took a defensive stance beside his sister.

"If he kills one of us then he kills both of us!" Video Error growled; never taking his visor off Cyclonus, "We're not gonna let this tin foil turkey get the better of us! _Attack_!"

Video Error then wrapped his tentacles around Cyclonus, who ferociously yanked at them until they tore away! Energon leaked from the stubs and Video Error tackled the larger Decepticon's legs. Solarflare fired her flame cannons until she ran out of power, and then nothing but smoke came out of the barrel of her cannons. She shook the cannons and banged them together to try to get more power out, but all to no avail.

Video Error actually started biting Cyclonus' leg to try to keep him from getting up and getting his sister, but the hate-fueled mech refused to stay down. He crawled to Solarflare in an effort to grab her. It was like watching a red colored zombie struggle to eat their processors.

Video Error pounded on the adult Decepticon's back and wings; his own right wing scraping the ground as he tried to force Cyclonus to slow down. The sparkling knew he couldn't stop Cyclonus, but he wanted to give his little sister a fighting chance. She wouldn't run, however. She wouldn't leave him, so she knew they would probably die together.

Suddenly, a blue light shot out from the sky and enveloped the entire landscape! The sparklings covered their optics and visor, and Cyclonus stopped struggling to escape Video Error. The light was so bright, and nobody knew what was going on. Still, it wasn't scary. Something about the light felt warm and safe; like the spark bond of a creator to their sparkling.

When it was over, Video Error and Solarflare looked to see that Cyclonus had returned to his normal purple color and was rubbing his helm. Video Error got off him and changed into Normal Mode; certain that the threat was over.

"What...What happened?" Cyclonus asked in confusion, "The sparklings. Where is your sire and your siblings?"

"We don't know, sir," Video Error replied honestly, "A mere moment ago you tried to kill us. Everyone has been trying to kill us, and they were all covered in a strange red substance. Solarflare and I were unaffected, but we do not know why. Please stay with us. We don't know if anyone else has been cured yet or not. I don't think we should be alone."

"Very well, you may stay with me for the moment," Cyclonus conceded, "It will be good practice for me anyway."

Cyclonus then picked up the sparklings and transformed into jet mode around them; allowing them both to sit in his cockpit.

"Practice? For what?" Solarflare asked once they were flying out into space.

"Mighty Galvatron has entrusted me with the care of several newsparks," Cyclonus explained, "I will raise 10, though there are more than that. I will teach them honor, loyalty, and the ways of a good Decepticon warrior."

"The ones you stole from the Autobots?" Video Error asked without judgment.

"Exactly," Cyclonus replied stoically, "The Autobots do not know anything about caring for their young. Autobot sparklings grow to be weak and unintelligent. These new Predacons deserve better than that. They deserve to grow up in good Decepticon households."

Neither sparkling replied to his statement. Cyclonus sounded so confident and absolute in his belief in Autobot inferiority. It wasn't that the sparklings didn't believe Autobots were inferior, but both of them were beginning to question an upbringing where a sparkling would be taught Galvatron was a good leader and Decepticons were always right. That mindset just didn't seem to fit with their modern world, and while neither said it out loud, both sparklings knew that they agreed with each other on this point.

* * *

Soundwave couldn't believe the devastation that had been wrought on most of the universe by the now infamous Hate Plague. Cyclonus had returned Video Error and Solarflare as soon as possible and rejoined Galvatron on earth. It didn't take long for both of them to return to Chaar, but the Decepticons still hadn't finished tending to their wounded. The only fatality in their group had been Blitzwing, but many more were injured.

Freezeframe had his leg crushed under Onslaught's pede, and Rumble's visor was broken. The birds were okay, Ratbat only lost a couple fangs from trying to bite other mechs, and Ravage only suffered minor damage. It took them several joors to even locate Frenzy, and when he did the little minicon was so low on fuel that he didn't know where he was or who Soundwave was. That wasn't even to mention Video Error's broken tentacles and wings, and Solarflare's depleted energon supply.

Soundwave diligently repaired each and every cut, dent, and deficiency on his symbiotes. He had managed to not be severely injured, but his processor was still reeling. He barely remembered any of it, but he distinctly remembered attacking Ravage and Freezeframe. He felt horrible for what he did to his own cassettes, and he was surprised by how quickly they forgave him.

The knowledge of how they were cured was even stranger. Optimus Prime had emptied the power in the Matrix of Leadership in order to restore the infected worlds, and Galvatron even called a temporary truce in gratitude for the Prime's selfless actions. The other Decepticons were confused, and Soundwave was too. There was no more Matrix of Leadership. That meant there was no more Prime and there would never be another Prime. What did this mean for Cybertron and its dependent colonies? What did this mean for the Decepticons and for his family?

It didn't take long however for the status quo to be restored. Galvatron wanted protoform metal so they could build bodies for the newsparks, and he ordered the Decepticons to raid Polyhex so they could get some. Most of the Decepticons were more than ready for a fight, but Soundwave's spark was no longer in it. The Autobots, and more specifically Optimus, saved the known universe. Fighting against them now seemed not only unnecessary, but a surefire way to end up on the wrong side of history. Nonetheless, Soundwave had a job to do and a family to support, so he sucked it up and tried to do a good job for his faction.

The large envoy of Decepticons arrived at the protoform sheet metal factory in Polyhex, and immediately began crashing in through the windows and attacking any worker that stood in their way. Soundwave could hear one of the workers calling for backup, and he released his cassettes so they could begin collecting the sheet metal in their subspaces.

The Decepticons hurried through the factory and took all the supplies that their subspaces could carry. When they were finished Galvatron called for a retreat, but when they flew outside the Decepticons were met by Springer in his helicopter mode, Sky Lynx, Superion, and Computron.

Most of the Decepticons started fighting right away, but Soundwave decided to favor prudence over grandstanding and landed in the shadows of the factory. He snuck along the sides with his cassettes in tow. When he searched for Video Error however, he found that the little triple changer was nowhere to be found.

Soundwave began to panic as he conjured up thoughts of his son being torn apart by Autobots, accidentally shot by a crazed Galvatron, or being crushed under a gestalt's pedes. Soundwave ran out to search for his 7th born creation, and he found him fighting alongside Counterpunch, Octane, and Astrotrain. The four Decepticons were back to back (to legs in Video Error's case) and fighting on the ground against Blaster, Blaster's cassettes, Wheelie, Jazz, and Arcee.

Steeljaw lunged for Video Error, and Soundwave released Ravage to tackle the golden lion cassette. The two cats tussled, and then backed away and began to circle each other as if sizing each other up. Video Error used his tentacles to whip back Rewind and Eject, which worked effectively enough but didn't knock them out. Blaster's twin terrors ran away anyway so Video Error's newly repaired tendrils wouldn't strike them. Soundwave could tell the cassettes were holding back. Blaster even looked at Video Error in between punches exchanged with Astrotrain to make sure the sparkling was alright. Soundwave normally would feel hatred for such paternal feelings coming from his Autobot rival, but this time he was grateful the red carrier host was looking out for his son.

Soundwave used his sonic echo attack against Arcee and Wheelie to get to Video Error while the other Autobots were distracted. He quickly grabbed his son and recalled Ravage into the tape deck. With that he ran away into the darkness of the buildings ahead.

Galvatron called a retreat, but Soundwave did not go with him. He looked at the Autobots dusting themselves off and came to a decision. His progeny would not return to serve a cruel tyrant like Galvatron. They deserved better than that. Even though he hated to admit it, he already knew the Decepticons had lost their way vorns ago, and without Megatron there was no one among the Decepticon ranks worth being loyal to. He only hoped he wouldn't be imprisoned for life for choosing the losing side.

"Well, that was some fight," Jazz said as he shook his helm and tried to work some pain out of his elbow, "Too bad the Decepticons got the protoform metal."

"They'll be back," Springer drawled as he helped Arcee up off the ground.

"Already back! Sneak attack!" Wheelie cried out as he pointed toward the factory.

The other remaining Autobots turned in unison and saw Soundwave slowly walking toward them with Video Error riding on his back piggyback style. They were ready for a fight, yet this didn't seem like a typical Soundwave move. Galvatron had ordered a retreat, and Soundwave _never_ disobeyed his leader. No one knew what to make of the situation.

"Yo, Soundwave! What's the gag? Fight's over," Blaster told him once Soundwave was close enough to them to be clearly seen.

"Soundwave wishes to defect," Soundwave announced to the shock of every Autobot present, "Decepticons: unsafe for sparklings. Fatherhood: priority."

"Since when?" Blaster asked bitterly, "For generations you've put your younglings in danger with battin' an optic! What makes this orn so different?"

"Optimus Prime: cured hate plague," Soundwave explained, "War: unnecessary. Request political asylum."

"You really would, now turn good?" Wheelie asked in awe, "Protect him we must! It is only just!"

" _What_!? Wheelie, you've gotta be kiddin' me!" Blaster facepalmed when he heard what his protégé said, "Rodimus will never accept Soundwave as an Autobot!"

"Neutral he can be, to Kloryll he can flee," Wheelie suggested hopefully.

"Kloryll?" Arcee asked worriedly, "That colony is mostly orphans and former Autobots. You really think mechs like Inferno, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe are going to leave him alone?"

"With sparkling in tow, they cannot say no!" Wheelie insisted.

"Soundwave: accepts proposal," Soundwave told them before they could argue it further, "No more war for sparklings. They deserve better."

"Father?" Video Error piped up from his spot on Soundwave's back, "Will there be other sparklings on Kloryll for me Solarflare and Freezeframe to play with?"

Such an innocent question made several of the Autobots' faces soften toward the sparkling and by extension his sire. No one really trusted Soundwave, but the idea of a high ranking Decepticon giving up a life of violence and hate for his sparklings was too touching for even the most hardened of Autobots to ignore.

"Don't worry, there's lots of sparklings there," Blaster replied with a warm smile, "Soundwave, I still don't like you, and given what happened to Shaboom I never will, but for the sake of the sparklings I'll help you."

Soundwave didn't reply to that. There wasn't much he could say. He still didn't like Blaster either. Not after what happened at Polyhex. Still, if he was going to start his life over then letting go of this chapter of the past was the first step.

* * *

It had taken a lot of convincing, a lot of repetition, and a lot of paperwork to get there, but stepping off of the shuttle and taking their first steps on Kloryll had been worth it. Blaster had kept his word and vouched for Soundwave in front of Rodimus, Optimus, and Ultra Magnus. Video Error didn't remember Blaster's cassettes from his previous time in Blaster's care, but soon he started to get along with them again. Even Solarflare and Freezeframe were warming up to the idea of not seeing the Autobots as targets anymore.

There would be a small house waiting for Soundwave in a neighborhood designed to accommodate Cybertronian political refugees. Most of the residents were from the now-nonexistent planet Paratron, so most were pacifists. Soundwave remembered that planet, and knew that he would have to work hard to earn their trust after the role he played in its destruction.

Soundwave and his entire brood walked down the quaint streets of the town. There was a store that sold energon, a school, a dojo, an armor shop, and many little houses. By far though the biggest building was a huge wide structure made of some form of red metal near the end of the street. It was massive, and the rest of the town seemed built around it, so Soundwave just had to know what it was.

As he and his symbiotes made their way there however, they were stopped in the road by Sunstreaker, who for some reason was wearing a mechanical turquoise snake around his neck cables.

"So, the rumors are true," Sunstreaker stated appraisingly, "Soundwave is no longer a 'Con. Congratulations, you've just upgraded from minion to civilian. How does it feel?"

While there was a little snark in his tone, Sunstreaker didn't sound nearly as vitriolic as Soundwave had expected. The snake on Sunstreaker's neck stirred and looked up lazily at Soundwave.

"Who is that, Grandsire? Do you know him?" Stranglor asked groggily as he awoke from his nap.

"Hi, Stranglor! Remember us?" Solarflare called up to the snake symbiote.

"Huh? Oh, Solarflare and Freezeframe! Hey, and Video Error too!" Stranglor exclaimed happily, "You guys look great! I am so happy you survived the hate plague! Oh, Joey is going to _freak_ when he sees you guys! Grandsire, these are friends of ours!"

"Yeah, I gathered," Sunstreaker replied with amusement as his grandson, "I'll tell you Soundwave, having Joey and Stranglor around makes me feel so old. They talk about things I can't even begin to understand, and they make me realize how much my little femmeling has grown up since we've been apart."

As if on cue, Soundwave heard hopping in the distance and a few seconds later had to shield his face plate from the dust kicked up when Terrabyte landed right in front of him in kangaroo mode. She transformed into a short and slight femme, yet those soulless yellow optics still seemed to bore holes into Soundwave. She looked at the three sparklings with Soundwave, and he in turn looked at Stranglor. They then looked at each other intensely. No words were spoken between the two carrier hosts, but they both gave and received the same message: _hurt my sparklings and I will kill you._

Soundwave nodded to Sunstreaker and Terrabyte before walking away with his little ones trailing behind him. He searched for his house's number, and found that his new home was directly across the street from the overly large red building he had seen earlier.

"Is this place _really_ ours?" Solarflare asked in awe as she looked at the silver colored house, "It's beautiful!"

"Hey, can we check out the furniture?" Rumble asked excitedly.

"Yeah! And the TV!" Frenzy added enthusiastically.

Soundwave nodded, and most of the sparklings and adult symbiotes ran into the house. Soundwave and Video Error stayed outside, however, and looked at the imposing building. The sign read: Red Honey Byte Foundling Home, and there seemed to be a few sparklings outside playing. Video Error sent a request to check out the building to Soundwave through the bond, and Soundwave sent an affirmative. The two held servos as they crossed the street to see the orphanage in greater detail.

They went past the gate and down the sidewalk. The place was big, but it seemed inviting enough with its crystal garden lining the building and the large play area for the sparklings. They were almost to the door when Soundwave heard the sound of static-filled tinny roaring. He knew that sound. It was the sound sparkling beast cassettes make when they cry. There seemed to be two voices, and one reminded him of when Buzzsaw and Laserbeak were little.

He rounded the corner of the building to see two beast cassettes; a pink gorilla and a turquoise bird. Inferno held them in his arms and tried bouncing them up and down to try to calm them. Soundwave then noticed the sign near the side entrance: Sparkling Drop Off. They were new arrivals.

"Aw, now, don't cry little darlin's," Inferno cooed as he tried to soothe the crying cassette sparklings, "It's okay. I know. We'll get you to a carrier host ASAP. I know one that might be able to help you.

"Query: symbiotes," Soundwave asked; startling Inferno who had not seen Soundwave coming.

"So, it's true, huh?" Inferno asked rhetorically once he regained his composure, "You defected. I can't believe it. Listen, I'd love to talk, but right now I need to get these little guys to Terrabyte. Cassettes this young can't afford to be without a carrier's energy for even an orn!"

"Query, designations," Soundwave asked; not moving aside for Inferno and forcing him to stay there with the two infant cassettes.

"Huh? Oh, their names!" Inferno exclaimed after having trouble understanding what Soundwave wanted, "Well, this big pink fella is Beastbox, and this little guy here is Squawktalk. I know they don't look it, but they're twins. Don't know who dropped them off, but I just fed them a few breems ago."

"Give them to me," Soundwave ordered curtly as he held his arms out for the sparklings.

Inferno instinctively backed away, remembering Soundwave's brutal Decepticon past. He knew though that this wasn't the right way to treat a new citizen of his new home planet. Steeling himself, Inferno overcame his initial distrust enough to step toward Soundwave with the sparklings.

"You wanna give them your energy until we can find them a home?" Inferno asked, "I'll warn you right now, it might take a while. Carriers are rare nowadays. It's a miracle we have one at all, well, now three with you and little Video Error."

"Give them to me," Soundwave repeated more insistently, "Proposition: permanent adoption."

"Oh," Inferno replied with muted shock, "Well...we are pretty crowded. I guess we can do this on a trial basis. I'm pretty sure you won't hurt them given your extensive knowledge on sparkling care and...large collection of healthy symbiotes. Alright Soundwave, step inside and we'll fill out the paperwork. There will be visits by the local social worker, Trailbreaker, but I doubt he'll find any problems. By the way, welcome to Kloryll, Soundwave. I hope yall'll like it here."

Beastbox grabbed onto one of Soundwave's shoulder guards as soon as the dark blue carrier got a hold of him. The ape buried his face plate into Soundwave's chassis while the bird flew onto Soundwave's helm and nestled in for the trip. Soundwave walked inside of the building knowing his family was getting bigger and that they would all finally have a new home...just the twelve of them.

* * *

Video Error, meanwhile, saw a little car-former femme playing with dolls and action figures of various types. She was all alone but she seemed happy enough, so he decided he wanted to play too. He turned his visor from red to blue so he could be Playful Error, and walked over to the femmeling.

Phobia stopped what she was doing when she saw someone coming, and gasped with excitement and joy when she saw it was Video Error! She hadn't seen him in ages, and she was so happy to see he was okay. Phobia squealed and ran toward the older sparkling excitedly; laughing all the way.

"Hi," Video Error waved even as Phobia got close enough to look her in the optic, "My name is Video Error. My family and I just moved here. What's your name?"

Phobia stopped mid-run and her optics widened for just a moment as she processed what Video Error had just said. He didn't know her anymore. Something had happened to his processor again and he didn't know who she was. Their previous friendship was gone. Phobia was glad she had drawn a smile on her face plate that morning so it wasn't obvious what she was really feeling. This was terrible and she wanted to cry, but there was only one she knew she could do a time like this.

"Hi Video Error, my name's Phobia," Phobia replied chipperly, "I was playing police station. You wanna play too?"

"You know it!" Video Error replied gamely as he skipped along with her to the toys.

Yes, the old Video Error was gone again, and Phobia couldn't get him back. She knew sulking about it wouldn't actually help him though, so she decided to be happy and play with him so they could start their friendship all over again. If she had to introduce herself again a hundred times she would. No matter what happened, Phobia knew they would always be friends, even if he forgot.

"This car is the bad guy, this is the donut wagon, and this is the police car," Phobia explained the toys one by one, "I call him Prowl Jr., and he's three weeks away from retirement, whatever that means."

"Which one is this?" Video Error asked as he held up a white and red car.

"That's the police chief," Phobia replied, "His name is Fire Alarm. You can play with him if you want. He gets to be the boss."

"Cool! Then I order all the police cars to dance and spill hot energon on everything!" Video Error shouted.

"Oh no! You broke the computer! He was three weeks away from retirement!" Phobia screamed melodramatically.

"Check this out! Unicron and Metroplex are having a fight, and it's up to the police chief and Prowl Jr. to stop them from crushing everything with their giant afts!" Video Error snickered.

"Seriously, if your visor turns purple I quit!" Phobia giggled as she moved toys around to correlate with their game.

The two sparklings played all day outside the foundling home with Phobia's toys. For that moment nothing else existed. There was no war, there was no death, there was no evil scientists, crazy dictators, or hate plagues. There was only Video Error, Phobia, and a plastic and metal world created by their imaginations.

 **The End**


End file.
